The transformation of coordinates (position and orientation) from one frame of reference is a

fundamental operation in several areas: flight control of aircraft and rockets, movement of
manipulators in robotics, and computer graphics.

(1) Euler angles are the angles of rotation of a three-dimensional coordinate frame. A rotation of
Euler angles is represented as a matrix of trigonometric functions of the angles.

(2) Quaternions are an algebraic structure that extends the familiar concept of complex numbers.
While quaternions are much less intuitive than angles, rotations defined by quaternions can be
computed more efficiently and with more stability, and therefore are widely used.