Resolving Gimbal Lock Using Quaternions
Publication Date
2025
Presentation Length
20 minutes
College
College of Sciences & Mathematics
Department
Math and Computer Science, Department of
Student Level
Undergraduate
SPARK Category
Scholarship
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Adam Cartisano
WELL Core Type
Intellectual Wellness
Metadata/Fulltext
Fulltext
SPARK Session
Geometry Topics
Presentation Type
Talk/Oral
Summary
Gimbal lock is a common phenomenon for objects in 3D space in which one degree of freedom is lost due to an alignment of two axes of rotation. In this presentation, we demonstrate how quaternions can be used to remedy gimbal lock. Quaternions are a 4D extension of complex numbers with the useful property that the group of quaternions of norm 1 (SU(2)) is the double-cover of the group of 3D rotations (SO(3)). We showcase how this can be applied to the gimbal lock problem using a simulation in Unity.
Recommended Citation
Goskie, Maxwell and Pardue, Arantxa, "Resolving Gimbal Lock Using Quaternions" (2025). SPARK Symposium Presentations. 341.
https://repository.belmont.edu/spark_presentations/341
