Math::Vector::BestRotation 0.009

Assume that you have a list of vectors v_1, v_2, v_3, ..., v_n and an equally sized list of vectors w_1, w_2, ..., w_n. A way to quantify how similar these lists are to each other is to compute the sum of the squared distances between the vectors: sum((w_1 - v_1)**2 + ... + (w_n - v_n)**2). In the literature, this sum is sometimes divided by 2 or divided by n or divided by n and the square root is taken ("root mean square" or RMS deviation).<br /><br />In some situations, one data set can be arbitrarily rotated with respect to the other one. In this case, one of them has to be rotated in order to calculate the RMS deviation in a meaningful way. Math::Vector::BestRotation solves this problem. It calculates the best orthogonal map U between the v_i and w_i. "Best" means here that the RMS deviation between Uv and w as calculated above is minimized.<br /><br />An orthogonal map can be a (proper) rotation or a rotation combined with a reflection (improper rotation). This module enables you to find the best orthogonal map, the best proper rotation, or the best improper rotation between two given vector sets.<br />Analysis<br /><br />Once you have obtained your optimal map you might be interested in what was actually needed to optimize the match. Currently, the method offers to calculate the rotation axis and angle for a proper rotation. Support for improper rotations is planned. It might also be interesting to know how much (in terms of RMS deviation) is gained by applying the map. Right now you have to do this yourself, but support for this is also planned.<br />Outlook and Limitations<br /><br />The algorithm implemented here is based on two research papers listed in the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS section. It works for higher dimensional vector spaces as well, but the current implementation supports only three-dimensional vectors. This limitation is going to be remedied in a future version of this module.<br /><br />The two data sets could not only be rotated with respect to each other, but also translated. This translation can be removed prior to the determination of the rotation by aligning the centers of mass of the two vector sets. However, this procedure is not offered by Math::Vector::BestRotation and possibly will never be, because this would require to store the full data sets in memory which is not necessary now.<br /><br />The underlying algorithm supports to assign different weights to the vector pairs to reflect that it might be more important to align some pairs then others (e.g. because there measurement had a smaller error). This is currently not implemented but planned for the future.

Requirements:	No special requirements
Platforms:	*nix, Linux
Keyword:	Calculate,  Deviation,  Divided,  Future,  Improper,  Mathvectorbestrotation,  Orthogonal,  Pairs,  Planned,  Proper,  Respect,  Rotated,  Rotation,  Supports,  Vector,  Vectors
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