What is the derivative of a skew symmetric matrix?

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SUMMARY

The derivative of a rotation matrix, specifically defined by Rodrigues' formula, is proven to be a skew symmetric matrix multiplied by the rotation matrix itself. The rotation matrix R(k, theta) is expressed as R(k, theta) = I + {u}*sin(theta) + {u}^2 * (1-cos(theta)), where {u} represents a skew symmetric matrix. The discussion emphasizes that the derivative must be taken with respect to the rotation angle theta, clarifying that the derivative of a skew symmetric matrix is also a skew symmetric matrix. This proof is essential for understanding the relationship between rotation matrices and their derivatives in three-dimensional space.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of rotation matrices and their properties
  • Familiarity with Rodrigues' rotation formula
  • Knowledge of skew symmetric matrices and their characteristics
  • Basic calculus concepts, particularly differentiation
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Musa00098

Homework Statement


Need to prove that the derivative of a rotation matrix is a skew symmetric matrix muktiplied by that rotation matrix. Specifically applying it on the Rodrigues’ formula.

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution


I have shown that the cubed of the skew symmetric matrix is equal to the opposite of the skew symmetric matrix. I;m supposed to use this to finish the proof of the above problem. But I get to a point where I have something like the skew matrix multiplied by sin, so I'm thinking of just doing the product rule here but I'm unsure what the derivative of the skew matrix is. I went with "derivative of skew symmetric matrix is a skew symmetric matrix" but that didn't work out
 
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Derivative with respect to what? In order to have a derivative at all there must be one or more parameters that the object depends on.
 
So the rotation matrix is R, rotated about an arbritrary axis k, and the rotation angle is theta. The derivative is with respect to theta. Here let me write the Rodrigues formula the best I can on my phone:

R(k, theta) = I + {u}*sin(theta) + {u}^2 * (1-cos(theta))

Where I is the identity matrix and {u} is a skew symmetric matrix, which would have the form of something like this:

{u} = [0 -z y; z 0 -x; -y x 0]

So I need to take the derivative of the rotation matrix R and show that it equals {u}*R
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Weird, apparently (open bracket) u (close bracket) isn't showing up in my post, so I switched it to {u}
 
Musa00098 said:
Weird, apparently (open bracket) u (close bracket) isn't showing up in my post, so I switched it to {u}
This is because is interpreted by a browser as the starting underscore tag -- the browser consumes this special character, which is why it seemed to disappear, and also why so much of your post was underscored.

I fixed your previous post, but you should take a look at it again to see if it says what you meant.
 

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