Euler Parameters in Computational Kinematics and Dynamics. Part 1

This paper presents useful and interesting identities between Euler parameters and their time derivatives. Using these identities, kinematic constraints and equations of motion for constrained mechanical systems are derived. These equations can be developed into a computer program to systematically generate all of the necessary equations to model mechanical systems. The compact form of these equations makes it possible to develop a general-purpose computer program for dynamic analysis of mechanical systems suitable for operation on small computers with limited memory space.