Correct!

Scaling the magnitude of the n by sin(a/2) is sensible because it changes sinusoidally as a function of angle, starting at zero and reaching a peak at 1800

Contrast this with another possible choice. What would happen if n were scaled by a linear function of n, e.g. a/2 x n ?

A third possibility is that used by rotation vectors: to scale by tan(a/2). While useful for eye movements (which do not normally rotate more than 50 deg.) the fact that this function explodes at 180 deg. makes it unsuitable for things that make large rotations (such as combined eye, head, and body rotations)


Copyright © 1996 Tutis Vilis and Douglas Tweed
University of Western Ontario
London Ontario Canada
Updated October 28, 2005

Comments welcome. Email to tutis.vilis@schulich.uwo.ca

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