Fused Angles and the Deficiencies of Euler Angles

Abstract

Just like the well-established Euler angles representation, fused angles are a convenient parameterisation for rotations in three-dimensional Euclidean space. They were developed in the context of balancing bodies, most specifically walking bipedal robots, but have since found wider application due to their useful properties. A comparative analysis between fused angles and Euler angles is presented in this paper, delineating the specific differences between the two representations that make fused angles more suitable for representing orientations in balance-related scenarios. Aspects of comparison include the locations of the singularities, the associated parameter sensitivities, the level of mutual independence of the parameters, and the axisymmetry of the parameters.