Interpolating Three-Dimensional

Kinematic Data Using Quaternion

James Coburn
Joseph J. Crisco1
Splines and Hermite Curves
Kinematic interpolation is an important tool in biomechanics. The purpose of this work is
Bioengineering Laboratory, Dept. of
to describe a method for interpolating three-dimensional kinematic data, minimizing
Orthopaedics, Brown Medical School/Rhode
error while maintaining ease of calculation. This method uses cubic quaternion and
Island Hospital 1 Hoppin Street, Coro West, Suite
hermite interpolation to fill gaps between kinematic data points. Data sets with a small
404, Providence, RI 02903
number of samples were extracted from a larger data set and used to validate the tech-
nique. Two additional types of interpolation were applied and then compared to the cubic
quaternion interpolation. Displacement errors below 2% using the cubic quaternion
method were achieved using 4% of the total samples, representing a decrease in error
over the other algorithms. 关DOI: 10.1115/1.1865195兴

Introduction transforms, described using rotation and translation matrices, re-

Kinematic analysis has become a useful and easily imple-
mented tool for biomechanists, facilitated by commercially avail-
able motion tracking systems. These tracking systems are well
suited for the study of whole-body or large joint motions, as ap-
plied in gait and sports performance analyses, and typically re-
quire the placement of topical markers on the body segments of
interest. For some joints, such as the knee, clusters of markers can
reduce relative motion errors caused by skin motion 关1兴. Internal
motion of small, multibone joints is more difficult to assess. Sev-
eral in vitro studies used percutaneous markers 关2,3兴 to gain kine-
matic information.
In vivo kinematic analysis of small joints, such as the wrist, has
recently been accomplished by several groups using similar meth-
ods 关4–7兴. Each method uses a series of CT volume images of the
wrist in several different positions. Three-dimensional 共3D兲 kine-
matics are determined by segmenting the bones from each volume
image and registering them across all volume images. These
methods are limited by two main factors. First, there are limits on
the amount of radiation to which a subject may be exposed, re-
ducing the number of volume images that can be taken. Second,
the independent variable used to describe wrist position, the pos-
ture of a central wrist bone, cannot be controlled accurately during
image acquisition, complicating the analysis. Three-dimensional
interpolation addresses these limitations.
Interpolation is commonly used to obtain results from scattered
or incomplete data in many disciplines. It is particularly useful for
in vivo biomechanics, where a limited number of available posi-
tions are interpolated to obtain useful correlations or comparisons.
These data sets are often interpolated using a single reference, or
independent, variable to obtain the required positions. The most
common type of interpolation, linear interpolation, connects each
position by a straight line, creating sharp corners at each position
and possible overlaps between objects. Assuming normal physiol-
ogy, a smooth motion path must connect all scanned positions
derived from in vivo data. Higher-order methods and proper
boundary conditions 关8,9兴 can increase accuracy.
Whether using linear interpolation or high-order curves, con-
ventional methods interpolate each variable’s components indi-
vidually. Unconstrained 3D motion is described by heavily
coupled variables that cannot be easily separated. Kinematic
1
Corresponding author
Contributed by the Bioengineering Division for publication In the JOURNAL OF
BIOMECHANICAL ENGINEERING. Manuscript received December 5, 2003. Final manu-
script received November 3, 2004. Associate Editor: Christopher Jacobs.
quire 12 variables 共six independent variables兲 to be interpolated.
Rotation matrices are constrained by certain conditions, such as
equality of the transpose and inverse, and treating each element
separately can easily violate constraints, making the matrix non-
rotational. Euler angles, another descriptor of rotation, are order
dependent and experience gimbal lock, which prevents certain
combinations of angles from being produced. Interpolating each
individually may exacerbate both problems. Ideally, all variables
would be calculated concurrently, preserving dependencies be-
tween variables. There have been several methods described that
interpolate these motions accounting for all factors. Due to the
complexity of the problem, however, numerical solutions to dif-
ferential equations must be calculated 关10,11兴. These solutions are
not practical or even possible to solve for many applications.
The purpose of this work is to describe a new method for in-
terpolating 3D kinematic data that gives accurate results for any
arbitrary set of points without extensive programming or calcula-
tion and to compare it to a typical linear and cubic spline algo-
rithm. This method may be used to generate kinematic data at
prescribed positions using a small number of data samples.
Methods
The theory for interpolating 3D kinematic data is first pre-
sented. A composite approach was developed using quaternion
splines to interpolate the orientation variables and Hermite curves
to interpolate the location variables. An approach for synchroniz-
ing quaternion and Hermite curves is then proposed. Data for an
accuracy test were collected at a high sampling rate, considered
the gold standard, and then down sampled to several test data sets
to simulate gaps in the data stream. The test data sets were inter-
polated using the proposed algorithm and standard linear and cu-
bic spline interpolation. These results were then compared to the
known gold standard data and each other. Accuracy was calcu-
lated based on the root mean square 共rms兲 error of each curve.
Description of Motion. Typical descriptions of kinematic mo-
tion include Euler angles and translations, Euler rotation matrices
and translations, homogeneous transform matrices, and helical
axes of motion 共HAMs兲. The last of these is our preferred method
for describing and reporting kinematic data in this study. HAMs
are defined by a unique rotation axis with an orientation unit vec-
tor n located at a point in space QL, a rotation about that axis ␾,
and a translation along the axis tham. This creates eight variables,
reducible to six using spherical coordinates to define n and inter-
secting QL at a single plane that completely describes any 3D
motion. A quaternion spline method is used to interpolate the ro-

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 tation variables 共␾ and n兲, and a Hermite curve is used to inter-
polate the translation variables 共QL and tham兲.
Quaternion as a Rotation Descriptor. Quaternions, discov-
ered early in the history of vector mathematics, extend complex
numbers into higher dimensions 关12兴. They provided a mathemati-
cally simple, stable, and convenient description of rigid body ro-
tations and orientations. Rotation matrices are less desirable for
some applications because they are not intuitive and require nine
variables 共three independent variables兲 to specify one orientation.
This 3 ⫻ 3 matrix can be described by three Euler angles. This
reduces the number of variables, but Euler angles are restricted by
order dependence and gimbal lock. Conceptually, quaternions are
very similar to the rotational components of HAMs except the
axis orientation and rotation are linked in a single unit vector,
eliminating both limitations of Euler angles. Since orientations do
not change with length scale, they can be thought of as inscribed
on the surface of a sphere or in the case of quaternions, a
hypersphere.
Each quaternion contains a single scalar and a vector, with
components i , j, and k that obey Hamilton’s rule 关12兴.
i2 = j2 = k2 = ijk = − 1
Each quaternion is written as a unit vector and can be directly
calculated from HAM variables or 3 ⫻ 3 Euler rotation matrix.
The first component is a scaled rotation about the HAM, and the
second is a three-dimensional combination of HAM angle and
orientation
q = 关cos ␪,n sin ␪兴
where n is the helical axis and ␪ is twice the angle of rotation ␾
about that axis. The algebraic properties of quaternions are well
described by Eberly 关13兴.
C1-Continuous Piecewise Quaternion Spline. In 1985, Shoe-
make 关14兴 proposed a method of interpolating quaternions based
on 3D Bézier splines. His paper details a piecewise cubic spline to
connect quaternion data points 共key frames兲, based on an iterative
spherical linear interpolation 共slerp兲 technique 关14兴. Simple linear
interpolation does not connect quaternions on a unit length arc.
Spherical linear interpolation ensures the resulting quaternions are
unit length. Trigonometrically, the slerp equation is defined as
关13兴
qisin关共1 − t兲␪兴 + qi+1sin共t␪兲
q共t兲 = slerp共qi,qi+1 ;t兲 =
sin ␪
or in vector notation
q共t兲 = 共qi:qi+1兲t = qi共qi−1qi+1兲t
for 0 艋 t 艋 1 where q共0兲 = qi and q共1兲 = qi+1. The parameter t is
the fractional advance from qi to qi+1, and the path of q共t兲 traces
a route along the surface of the hypersphere. The function
slerp共qi , qi+1 ; t兲 is abbreviated by 共qn : qn+1兲t.
Using slerp still creates discontinuities at each key frame. To
create a smooth curve, control lines described by the outgoing
tangent an and the incoming tangent bn−1 must be prescribed and
a higher-order calculated curve 共Fig. 1兲.
Shoemake 关14兴 outlines a simple method to calculate each tan-
gent, ai and bi, then incorporate them into a cubic-order interpo-
lation that assumes equally spaced key frames. Variable spacing
can be accommodated with changes to the calculations of each
tangent. Building on his framework and extending the definition
of Hermite curves, specifically so called TCB-splines 共see 关15兴 for
Cartesian derivation兲, into quaternion space, we are able to further
constrain the control tangents to accommodate nonconstant inter-
vals as follows:
ai = Bisect关共1 + b兲共1 − c兲Double共qi−1,共1 − b兲共1 + c兲qi兲,qi+1兴
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Fig. 1 Example quaternion spline curve. An example curve
showing the location of control points ai , bi , qi−1, and qi+3. Each
interpolated segment is calculated using two tangent points
and two key frames. This is a dimensionally reduced example
of the four-dimensional quaternion for visualization purposes.
共1兲
bi = 共1 + b兲共1 − c兲Double共ai,qi兲 共5兲
where
Double共qi,q j兲 = 2共qi•q j兲q j − qi
共6兲
qi + q j
Bisect共qi,q j兲 =
共2兲 储qi + q j储
bias b controls on which side of the control point curvature be-
gins, and it can have a value from −1 to 1. Tension t, shown
below, controls how sharp the curve is and can have a value from
−1 to 1. At a tension value of 1, the curve would be discontinuous
because the changes in direction become abrupt. Continuity c con-
trols the continuity of the curve and, in this case, will always be 0
to preserve C1 continuity. Intuitively, it can be seen that the ten-
sion acts on the length of the tangent, reducing or lengthening
curves, while the bias tunes the orientation of the tangent. One
primary way in which this formulation differs from that used by
Eberly 关13兴 is that the placement of the tension allows for com-
pensation of nonconstant intervals.
Larger than ideal key frame spacings tend to create undulating
curves in the interpolation. In a biological context, for example,
the interpolation algorithm must minimize the size of curves in a
共3兲
motion to prevent bones from overlapping. We create a simple
correction factor for these undulations
共4兲 Sideal =
兺␾ i
itotal
Sactual
Cs = 共7兲
Sideal
where S is arc length calculated from the magnitude of rotation
each quaternion describes, ␾i is the HAM rotation angle of the
current key frame, and Cs is the correction ratio used to scale
incoming and outgoing tangents, appropriately. Following from
Bézier curves, the magnitudes of these tangents are three times
that of the segment itself. Unlike standard Bézier curves, this fac-
tor corrects for interval length
冋 册
共1 − t兲Cs
xi = slerp qi,xi, 共8兲
3
where xi represents either the incoming 共bi兲 or outgoing 共ai兲 tan-
gent, t is the tension described above, and Cs is the correction
factor from Eq. 共7兲.
Cyclic motions have tangents for all key frames, but tangents
cannot be calculated at the endpoints of unidirectional motions
Transactions of the ASME
 because the cubic equation requires both the point before and
point after the key frame of interest to define an accurate tangent.
A simple endpoint extension calculation, after Kim et al. 关16兴, was
implemented. These descriptions are more intuitive when a corre-
lation is made to Cartesian space
q = log r
and r is a vector in the Cartesian space. Cartesian endpoint tan-
gents are calculated from
r−1 = r1 − „r2 − r1…
ri+ = ri + „ri − ri−1…
Plugging Eq. 共10兲 into Eq. 共9兲 yields the endpoint tangents 关16兴:
q−1 = q1共q−1
1 q 2兲
−1
qi+ = qi共qi−j
−1
q i兲
The complete cubic quaternion spline is calculated by Shoemake’s
关14兴 iterative technique. Here pi denotes an intermediate quater-
nion
C1-continuous Piecewise Cartesian Spline Using Hermite
Curves. Hermite curves are well-described mathematical tools for
interpolating smoothly between any set of three-dimensional
points 关15兴. Hermite curves, as discussed, are calculated using two
key points and the derivatives at those points. Any point between
points xa and xb can be described in terms of the parameter t,
which denotes the percentage of the total distance to be traversed.
Hermite curve equations are established mathematical formulae,
and derivations can be found in books, such as Farin’s graphics
textbook 关15兴.
The HAM translation variables QL and tham are interpolated
using Hermite curves. While tham is uniquely defined, QL can be
designated as any point along the infinite helical axis and requires
further constraint before accurate interpolation can be performed.
The smallest necessary translation is calculated by minimizing the
distance QL travels over the entire motion. Unnecessary transla-
tions cause artifacts in the interpolated data, manifested as oscil-
lations or loops in the motion curve. QL1 for the first HAM was
calculated as the point on the HAM axis nearest the origin of the
reference coordinate system. Each subsequent location QLn was
calculated as the point on the HAM axis, closest to QLn−1, fully
constraining the system.
All the elements needed to compute the interpolation are as-
sembled into a Hermitian matrix H an endpoint boundary condi-
tions matrix C, and a “powers of t” matrix T. Rows one and two
of the Hermitian matrix are the coefficients of the cubic equations
for the two reference points, and rows three and four are their
respective derivatives.
冨 冨 冨 冨 冨冨
2 −2 1 1 x共0兲 t3
−3 3 −2 −1 x共1兲 t2
H= C= T=
0 0 1 0 x⬘共0兲 t applied componentwise, was performed on the 5s and 7s data sets.
1 0 0 0 x⬘共1兲 1 Accuracy Data Comparison. Test and gold standard data sets
The cubic equation to describe any point between xa and xb is
simply
x共t兲 = T · H · C
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共9兲
共10兲
Fig. 2 Quaternion variable versus Hermite variable. Equally
共11兲 spaced quaternion intervals at top with linear time scale at the
bottom for an arbitrary 10 steps. Scalar multiples of quaternion
parameter q at top define increments of Hermite parameter ti at
bottom.
Synchronizing Quaternion and Hermite Curves. Hermite
curves operate in linear space, whereas quaternion curves operate
in a spherical space. This causes a discrepancy in the variable
used to calculate each interpolated element. To compensate, we
共12兲 interpolated the quaternions using a constant increment t, then
constructed the Hermitian parameter ti to match
ti =
兺␪ i
共15兲
S
where S is the current segment arc length and ␪i is arc length of
interpolated increment i. Parametrizing the Hermite curve with ti
varies the increment length of the translation scale to match the
points on the quaternion curve 共Fig. 2兲.
Accuracy Tests. The accuracy of this interpolation technique
was assessed by comparing a high sample rate kinematic data set
to interpolated data sets calculated from smaller set of points
taken from the original data set. High sample rate, or gold stan-
dard, data for verification of the interpolation technique was ac-
quired using five sensors tracking a rigid body motion. Data were
collected with an Optotrak 3020 共Northern Digital, Waterloo, ON兲
sampling at 30 Hz, tracking markers to a root mean square 共rms兲
accuracy of 0.1 mm along the x 共horizontal兲 and y 共vertical兲 axes
and 0.15 mm along the z 共out of plane of the lens兲 axis 关17兴.
The chosen motion emulated flexion and extension of a joint,
such as in the knee or wrist but there were no constraints put on
the exact motion path. HAM variables for the motion are plotted
共Figs. 3 and 4兲. Several lower sample rate data sets were extracted
from this original 30 Hz motion. All data sets are referenced as a
percentage of the original data set as the interpolation method is
not dependent on time, but rather on the number of samples avail-
able. The extracted points became the key frames for interpola-
tion. Two constant sampling rate data sets, designated Constant 3
and Constant 6, were created by resampling at 10% and 20% of
the gold standard, respectively. Four sets of randomly distributed
samples were selected containing between 4% and 20% of the
original samples 共Table 1兲. Simple linear and cubic interpolation,
共13兲
were compared to assess the accuracy of the interpolation tech-
nique. Interpolated and gold standard values were time matched to
the original data set automatically by the interpolation scheme. An
共14兲 rms error, the distance between each sensor’s original and inter-
APRIL 2005, Vol. 127 / 313

Fig. 3 Components of QL and tham over the test motion. The
left vertical axis shows the HAM location QL broken into its
component at each sample. The right vertical axis shows the
HAM translation tham at each sample. Note the large changes in
all components of QL toward the end of the data set, showing a
possible correspondence to the increase in interpolation error
shown in Figs. 5 and 6.
polated location, was calculated to assess accuracy. Percentage
error was calculated based on the total travel distance of the gold
standard object, 106.5 mm.
Results
Accuracy Tests. Rms error magnitudes of less than 3% were
achieved using only one-tenth of the original number of samples.
First, a comparison of data sets Constant 3 and Constant 6 showed
high accuracy with less than 1% error for all the cubic quaternion
splines and less than 2% for all methods. Variable sampling rate
data sets show a slight decrease in accuracy from the constant rate
sets at similar sampling rates. The 5s test data set 共4% of the total
number of samples兲 is not as accurate as the others yielding 1.8%
displacement error when using the cubic quaternion spline. The
accuracy of angular HAM variables, rotation, and axis orientation,
Fig. 4 Components of ␾ and n over the test motion. The left
vertical axis shows the HAM orientation n broken into its com-
ponents. The right vertical axis shows the HAM rotation ␾. The
rotation tracks a steady pattern through the motion while the
orientation changes dramatically at the beginning and end of
the samples.
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Table 1 Data set properties. Number of samples and mean
sampling rate of each data set. Standard deviation is shown for
variable sample rate cases.
Number Mean Normalized
Data Set of samples rate (Hz) SD (Hz) rate (%)
Original 120 30 0 100
Constant 3 15 3 0 10
Constant 6 30 6 0 20
5s 5 0.86 0.49 2.9
7s 7 1.3 0.62 4.3
9s 9 2.35 1.04 7.8
11s 11 3.12 1.74 10.4
based on comparison to the original data set, were minimally af-
fected by the decrease in sample size. QL, which shows the most
dramatic changes throughout the motion 共Fig. 3兲, dramatically in-
creases the error in certain portions of the curve.
A plot of displacement error as a function of time showed
clearly that certain sections of the test motion exhibited dispropor-
tionately increased error. When compared to linear and standard
cubic spline interpolation, the cubic quaternion spline method
shows increased average rms accuracy in both the 5s and 7s po-
sitions 共Table 2兲. The standard cubic spline showed decreased
accuracy from the linear interpolation in the 7s data set while the
cubic quaternion spline still maintained a 30% better accuracy
共Figs. 5 and 6兲. Data from a previous in vivo study 关18兴 was
interpolated as an example of a motion with a small change in QL
共Fig. 7兲.
Discussion
The purpose of this work was to describe and test a new method
for interpolating 3D kinematic data and to compare it to simple
interpolation methods. Linear interpolation and simple cubic
quaternion interpolation have been used in analysis of wrist kine-
matic data 关19兴 for the same purposes as the cubic method pro-
posed here. Generally, cubic interpolation is more computation-
ally costly than linear interpolation and may be unnecessary for
certain applications, but linear interpolation can introduce unac-
ceptable error when applied to kinematic data. Simple cubic inter-
polation also discounts the dependencies of the rotational vari-
ables on each other and, as is shown, does not give as accurate
results as cubic quaternion interpolation. Although some portions
of the cubic quaternion curve have greater error than the simple
cubic spline, the overall accuracy of the curve is distinctly greater.
There are several current methods of interpolating 3D rigid
body kinematics employed in computer graphics research, such as
using Lie groups and Riemannian manifolds 关20兴, homogeneous
transforms 关21兴, or other methods 关10,11,22兴. These methods are
highly accurate and computationally intensive, however, because
of their design, the input requirements are rather strict. Key
frames must be evenly spaced throughout the motion, and some-
times the equation of motion or boundary conditions must be
specified 关10,23兴. The described combination of Hermite and cu-
bic quaternion splines provides an intuitive and computationally
easy approach to interpolation of unconstrained data, such as that
collected in vivo, without requiring any additional conditions. The
use of TCB-type splines enables the easy addition of an optimiz-
ing algorithm to further customize each curve.
When choosing an algorithm for kinematic interpolation, a few
factors can define how rigorous a method is needed. These factors,
in order of importance, are: 共i兲 How much and what type of data
is available? With decreasing numbers of data points, higher-order
and complexity algorithms may be required to create an accurate
interpolation. With information on the velocity and acceleration at
each data point, it may be possible to use a more complex method;
however, with only rotation and translation data at each point, the
cubic quaternion method could be implemented. 共ii兲 What re-
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 sources are available to code and calculate the interpolation? If the Table 2 Comparison of interpolation methods. Three methods
correct software and code is available, any of these algorithms are of interpolating the kinematic data are shown. Errors for the
possible. Linear interpolation requires the least computation and data sets with the two fewest samples are given. Displacement
can be done by hand, while the others require a mathematics error is measured as the rms error between original and calcu-
lated sensor positions for the entire motion sequence. Percent
package. 共iii兲 How complex is the projected motion? A motion error is based on a total travel of 106.5 mm.
that is known to be approximately linear can generally be well
defined by an interpolation of that type. Most other motions can Type of Avg rms Percent Improvement
be accurately calculated with a cubic quaternion spline. Data sets, interpolation Data set error 共mm兲 error 共%兲 over baseline 共%兲
where the amount of motion spans several orders of magnitude
between data points, would not be appropriate for these less re- Linear 5s 2.73 2.6 --
strictive algorithms and would require both more information and 7s 1.57 15 --
Cubic 5s 2.37 2.2 13
tighter constraints for correct interpolation.
7s 1.90 18 −20
Accuracy Analysis. Comparison to the gold standard data set Cubic quaternion 5s 1.98 1.8 27
verifies that the cubic quaternion interpolation technique can de- 7s 1.09 1.0 31
scribe a complete motion curve when given only a small number
of key frames on that curve, though accuracy decreases with de-
creasing number of key frames and increasing variability in key
frame spacing. Two main properties of unconstrained 3D motion across the motion curve. This does not mean the intervals used
require a cubic-order interpolation. First, velocity at every key were of constant, but had the points in the 5s data set been dis-
frame must be continuous. Linear interpolation creates sharp tributed extremely unevenly, it would not have been possible to
changes in magnitude and direction of motion, which rarely occur perform an accurate interpolation for sheer lack of information. A
in normal physiology. Second, linear segments distort an object’s sensitivity analysis will determine the exact dependence of accu-
path. C1-continuity is part of normal biological systems and, racy on placement. One possible modification to improve accu-
therefore, motion paths must adhere to the constraints of such a racy is the addition of an optimization parameter that controls
system. Neglect of these changes in path curvature between each both the TCB and correction factor.
key frame can introduce large interpolation errors. The average displacement errors found for data sets 5s , 7s , 9s,
The curve interpolated with our technique shows less than 2% and 11s increased steadily with decreasing sample size. Anoma-
error while only using 4% of the available samples. An in vivo lously high errors in certain sections of the motion sequence re-
data set is not always guaranteed to include all the pertinent in- quire further explanation. There are several probable causes for
flections of the motion curve needed to calculate a completely the two spikes seen in the 5s and 7s data sets 共Figs. 5 and 6兲.
accurate interpolation and as sample rate decreases, sensitivity to Lower sample rate tests approached the minimum limit required
point placement increases dramatically. One key frame was taken to describe the unconstrained motion curve and showed increased
near each end of the sample data set and one point near the middle error. Five key frames capture very little of the motion for inter-
in the 5s and 7s sets. These simulated data gathered at the neutral, polation and, therefore, unexpected fluctuations between those
extended, and flexed states of a joint, but also limited the scope of Five key frames can be missed. In the latter segment of the motion
the error analysis to curves whose key frames are well distributed sequence, the HAM location QL changes drastically from the pre-

Fig. 5 Displacement error in data set 7s. Distance between calculated sensor location and original sensor
location for three interpolation methods. The cubic quaternion spline mitigates the errors of the cubic spline
while maintaining continuity, unlike the linear interpolation. Key frames are located where the rms error is zero.
Sensor with the largest error is displayed.

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 Fig. 6 Displacement error in data set 5s. Distance between calculated sensor location and acquired sensor
location for three interpolation methods. With so few frames, errors keeping up with changes in HAM location
dominate, reducing the advantage of the cubic quaternion spline. Key frames are located where the rms error
is zero. The sensor with the largest error is displayed.
vious segments. The error at these points in the interpolated mo-
tion is similar to the extraneous curves seen when ⌬QL is not
minimized. Further analysis using varied magnitudes of QL dis-
placement and differences in tham may help identify the most im-
portant factors in reducing error.
This arbitrary test motion simulated flexion and extension mo-
tion in form, but the kinematic transforms possessed very different
characteristics than those seen in kinematic data collected in vivo
关18,19兴. Smaller changes in HAM location, seen in joints in vivo,
may increase the accuracy of the interpolation method simply by
decreasing the distance between each QL. Predictions of accuracy
based on the test data set are conservative compared to kinematics
showing tightly grouped HAMs. As seen in the error tables, much
Fig. 7 Example showing interpolated capitate. Scanned capi-
tate positions or key frames „colors… and interpolated positions
„gray… moving from extension „left… to flexion „right…. This
space is the motion envelope of this wrist bone and shows a
full range of flexion extension using only these five frames.
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of the difference in HAM variables occurs in QL. The test QL
moved a maximum of 35 mm from its starting point with a total
path of 247.8 mm traveled over the entire motion. In vivo mea-
surements of the wrist show that QL only travels a total of a few
millimeters over the entire motion 关19兴. The reduction in travel
distance could greatly increase the accuracy of the interpolation
technique. Future work will incorporate several test motions made
to more accurately simulate natural movements 共Fig. 7兲.
Conclusions
We have developed a method to spline unconstrained 3D rigid
body motion using smooth curves that can process both constant
sample rate and variable sample rate data without the need to
increase the complexity of the calculations. Comparison of the
cubic quaternion interpolation method to a known data set shows
that it can accurately calculate an object’s position and orientation
over a sequence of positions with only a minimum of information.
This may make trends in large subject populations easier to cor-
relate by using data at consistent locations, and scatter caused by
scanning misalignment can be drastically reduced. This method
can be applied to any research requiring reconstruction of a rigid
body motion path from a finite number of still motion samples
that does not need to or cannot collect the data necessary to con-
struct a more constrained interpolation, thereby expanding our
ability to study the complex motions so easily achieved by hu-
mans everyday.
Acknowledgment
Support from the National Institutes of Health Grant No.
AR44005 is gratefully acknowledged.
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