Special Biomechanics Problem Due Monday. Nov 24 at 1 pm in the weekly problem box.

. Introduction To analyze motion, bioengineers (and robot designers) model articulating segments as mathematical lines or links. To simplify the expression of local vector quantities (position vectors, velocities, accelerations, etc), each link is given its own coordinate system. Developing and managing the relationships between these various coordinate systems is critical to a global mechanical analysis. Linear algebra provides the tools for transforming quantities between coordinate systems. This problem is designed to introduce you to a basic transformation known as the rotation matrix that will be useful for your MATLAB project in BME201. This problem does not assume that you have had linear algebra, but if you open your mind and think, you might learn a little. Deriving a Rotation Matrix Multiplying a vector by the appropriate rotation matrix re- expresses the orientation of the vector in a different coordinate system. For example the rotation matrix tRp would be used to transform the orientation of vectors from the p coordinate system to the t coordinate system. In this notation the to and from coordinate systems always appear in the order toRfrom. The rotation matrix can be derived by expressing the unit vectors tx, ty of the rotated coordinate system as the sum of components in the other coordinate system as shown below.

1) Following this example, show that pRt is given by

Hint: Remember that positive angular rotations are counter-clock-wise. This matrix is also the inverse of the first. In linear algebra speak we could write pRt = [tRp]-1 to express the inverse relationship. Multiplying Matrices Rotation matrices can be multiplied to produce new rotation matrices in the following way: tRp X pRm = tRm. This new matrix provides the conversion between coordinate systems t and m. The order of multiplication is important and it is necessary that reference coordinate system p appear on the interior of the two multiplied matrices. The new matrix will assume the name of the remaining two coordinate systems in the same

left-to-right order in which they appear in the multiplication.

Two-by-two matrices are multiplied according the following algorithm.

2) Use this algorithm and the definition of pRt from equation 1 to show that
p

Rt x tRp =

This matrix is called the identity matrix. A vector multiplied by the identity matrix remains unchanged. Application to an arm model In the example below, three coordinate systems are shown in a model of the arm. A world coordinate system attached at the shoulder - is fixed with respect to the world. This coordinate system does not rotate or translate and is therefore useful as an inertial reference frame. Coordinate systems are also attached to the elbow and wrist rotate with the lower arm and hand respectively.

3) Develop rotation matrices that could be used to transform vectors expressed in: a) wrist coordinates to world coordinates b) elbow coordinates to world coordinates 4) Derive aRh in two ways: a) by expressing the rotation between these two coordinate systems as a difference between 2 and 1 and substituting into the form above. b) by multiplying the rotation matrices derived in 3). c) use trig identities to show that the forms for a) and b) are equivalent 5) Assume 2 = 60 and 1 = 30. Use MATLAB to multiply the matrices aRw and hRw and show that this matches the form you derived in 4).