mtimes, *

Quaternion multiplication

Since R2023b

Syntax

quatC = A*B

Description

quatC = A*B implements quaternion multiplication if either A or B is a quaternion. Either A or B must be a scalar.

You can use quaternion multiplication to compose rotation operators:

• To compose a sequence of frame rotations, multiply the quaternions in the order of the desired sequence of rotations. For example, to apply a p quaternion followed by a q quaternion, multiply in the order pq. The rotation operator becomes $${\left(pq\right)}^{\ast }v\left(pq\right)$$, where v represents the object to rotate specified in quaternion form. * represents conjugation.

• To compose a sequence of point rotations, multiply the quaternions in the reverse order of the desired sequence of rotations. For example, to apply a p quaternion followed by a q quaternion, multiply in the reverse order, qp. The rotation operator becomes $$\left(qp\right)v{\left(qp\right)}^{\ast }$$.

Examples

Multiply Quaternion Scalar and Quaternion Vector

Create a 4-by-1 column vector, A, and a scalar, b. Multiply A times b.

A = quaternion(randn(4,4))

A = 4x1 quaternion array
      0.53767 +  0.31877i +   3.5784j +   0.7254k
       1.8339 -   1.3077i +   2.7694j - 0.063055k
      -2.2588 -  0.43359i -   1.3499j +  0.71474k
      0.86217 +  0.34262i +   3.0349j -  0.20497k

b = quaternion(randn(1,4))

b = quaternion
    -0.12414 +  1.4897i +   1.409j +  1.4172k

C = A*b

C = 4x1 quaternion array
      -6.6117 +   4.8105i +  0.94224j -   4.2097k
      -2.0925 +   6.9079i +   3.9995j -   3.3614k
       1.8155 -   6.2313i -    1.336j -     1.89k
      -4.6033 +   5.8317i + 0.047161j -    2.791k

Input Arguments

A — Input to multiply

quaternion object | array of quaternion objects | real scalar | array of real numbers

Input to multiply, specified as a quaternion object, an array of quaternion objects of any dimensionality, a real scalar, or an array of real numbers of any dimensionality. Numeric values must be of data type single or double.

If B is nonscalar, then A must be scalar.

B — Input to multiply

quaternion object | array of quaternion objects | real scalar | array of real numbers

Input to multiply, specified as a quaternion object, an array of quaternion objects of any dimensionality, a real scalar, or an array of real numbers of any dimensionality. Numeric values must be of data type single or double.

If A is nonscalar, then B must be scalar.

Output Arguments

quatC — Quaternion product

quaternion object | array of quaternion objects

Quaternion product, returned as a quaternion object or an array of quaternion objects.

Algorithms

Quaternion Multiplication by a Real Scalar

Given a quaternion

$$q=a_{\text{q}}+b_{\text{q}}\text{i}+c_{\text{q}}\text{j}+d_{\text{q}}\text{k,}$$

the product of q and a real scalar β is

$$\beta q=\beta a_{\text{q}}+\beta b_{\text{q}}\text{i}+\beta c_{\text{q}}\text{j}+\beta d_{\text{q}}\text{k}$$

Quaternion Multiplication by a Quaternion Scalar

The definition of the basis elements for quaternions,

$${\text{i}}^2={\text{j}}^2={\text{k}}^2=\text{ijk}=-1,$$

can be expanded to populate a table summarizing quaternion basis element multiplication:

	1	i	j	k
1	1	i	j	k
i	i	−1	k	−j
j	j	−k	−1	i
k	k	j	−i	−1

When reading the table, the rows are read first, for example: ij = k and ji = −k.

Given two quaternions, $$q=a_{\text{q}}+b_{\text{q}}\text{i}+c_{\text{q}}\text{j}+d_{\text{q}}\text{k,}$$ and $$p=a_{\text{p}}+b_{\text{p}}\text{i}+c_{\text{p}}\text{j}+d_{\text{p}}\text{k}$$, the multiplication can be expanded as:

$$\begin{array}{l}z=pq=\left(a_{\text{p}}+b_{\text{p}}\text{i}+c_{\text{p}}\text{j}+d_{\text{p}}\text{k}\right)\left(a_{\text{q}}+b_{\text{q}}\text{i}+c_{\text{q}}\text{j}+d_{\text{q}}\text{k}\right)\\ =a_{\text{p}}{a}_{\text{q}}+a_{\text{p}}{b}_{\text{q}}\text{i}+a_{\text{p}}{c}_{\text{q}}\text{j}+a_{\text{p}}{d}_{\text{q}}\text{k}\\ +b_{\text{p}}{a}_{\text{q}}\text{i}+b_{\text{p}}{b}_{\text{q}}{\text{i}}^2+b_{\text{p}}{c}_{\text{q}}\text{ij}+b_{\text{p}}{d}_{\text{q}}\text{ik}\\ +c_{\text{p}}{a}_{\text{q}}\text{j}+c_{\text{p}}{b}_{\text{q}}\text{ji}+c_{\text{p}}{c}_{\text{q}}{\text{j}}^2+c_{\text{p}}{d}_{\text{q}}\text{jk}\\ +d_{\text{p}}{a}_{\text{q}}k+d_{\text{p}}{b}_{\text{q}}\text{ki}+d_{\text{p}}{c}_{\text{q}}\text{kj}+d_{\text{p}}{d}_{\text{q}}{\text{k}}^2\end{array}$$

You can simplify the equation using the quaternion multiplication table:

$$\begin{array}{l}z=pq=a_{\text{p}}{a}_{\text{q}}+a_{\text{p}}{b}_{\text{q}}\text{i}+a_{\text{p}}{c}_{\text{q}}\text{j}+a_{\text{p}}{d}_{\text{q}}\text{k}\\ +b_{\text{p}}{a}_{\text{q}}\text{i}-b_{\text{p}}{b}_{\text{q}}+b_{\text{p}}{c}_{\text{q}}\text{k}-b_{\text{p}}{d}_{\text{q}}\text{j}\\ +c_{\text{p}}{a}_{\text{q}}\text{j}-c_{\text{p}}{b}_{\text{q}}\text{k}-c_{\text{p}}{c}_{\text{q}}+c_{\text{p}}{d}_{\text{q}}\text{i}\\ +d_{\text{p}}{a}_{\text{q}}k+d_{\text{p}}{b}_{\text{q}}\text{j}-d_{\text{p}}{c}_{\text{q}}\text{i}-d_{\text{p}}{d}_{\text{q}}\end{array}$$

References

[1] Kuipers, Jack B. Quaternions and Rotation Sequences: A Primer with Applications to Orbits, Aerospace, and Virtual Reality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007.

Extended Capabilities

C/C++ Code Generation
Generate C and C++ code using MATLAB® Coder™.

Version History

Introduced in R2023b