Rotate a Vector by Quaternion

Rotate a Vector by Quaternion
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I'm trying how to work out how to Rotate a Vertex using Quaternions, using a scientific calculator, or on paper. Exam preparation.

My lecturer has given us this; Quaternion = (-0.5, 0, -0.7071067, 0.5) Vertex = (23, 10, 18)

The way it's been explained to us is like this;

We have a vertex called p

We have a quaternion called q

We store p within a quaternions vector component, we'll call this K

K = (0, p)

Finally we do the normal quaternion multiplication

p' = qKq-1

I'm just trying to work out how I break this down so it's easier to understand so I am able to find out the result. I know how to do quaternion multiplication, but it seems confusing as I only have one w component in the quaternion, and only the x, y,z in the vector.

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1 Answer

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We store p within a quaternions vector component, we'll call this $K = (0, p)$

[...] but it seems confusing as I only have one w component in the quaternion, and only the x, y,z in the vector.

I have no idea how you are writing and multiplying quaternions, so I'll do it both the ways I think you might be doing it.

If you are doing it with $i,j,k$'s then this means you are storing it as $K=23i+10j+18k$ and $q=-0.5 -0.7071067j+0.5k$

If you are storing it as (scalar, vector) parts and then doing computations that way then it means your quaternion is $K=(0, (23,10,18))$ and $q=(-0.5, (0, -0.7071067, 0.5))$

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Robert Thorne
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Robert Thorne

Robert Thorne covers electric vehicle innovations, autonomous driving systems, global mobility trends, and automotive engineering developments.