A NEW PARAMETERIZATION OF THE ATTITUDE KINEMATICS

We present a new method for describing the kinematics of the rotationa l motion of a rigid body. The new kinematic formulation provides a thr ee-dimensional parameterization of the rotation group using two perpen dicular rotations; thus it complements the Eulerian angles (three rota tions) and Euler-Rodrigues parameters (one rotation). The differential equations can be described by two scalar equations. We show the conne ction of the new parameterization with the other classical parameteriz ations. The new kinematic formulation has potential applications in as trodynamics, attitude control, robotics and other fields.