 Rotation-axis direction uncertainty in clearance bounds

Rotation-axis direction uncertainty in clearance bounds accounts for a robot rotating about a direction different from the modeled direction. Even an exactly located pivot does not determine the final occupied geometry if its axis direction is uncertain. Rotation acts through a rotation matrix; Rodrigues rotation formula computes that matrix from a unit axis and rotation angle.^[ref]

Assume the pivot $c$ and principal rotation angle $0\le \theta \le \pi$ are known and shared by both models. Let the unit axes be $u,\hat{u}$, separated by $\alpha$, and suppose every occupied point obeys $\Vert p-c\Vert \le R$. The endpoint discrepancy isIt measures error against a nominal endpoint, not total motion from the initial position.

One exact operator norm calculation uses the unit quaternions $(\cos (\theta /2),u\sin (\theta /2))$ and its modeled counterpart. Their scalar product isThe relative rotation has half-angle cosine $|d|$. A rotation through angle $\beta$ moves a perpendicular unit vector by $2\sin (\beta /2)$, givingConsequently, if the direction error is at most ${\alpha }_{\max }\le \pi$,The cap $2R$ follows because both endpoints lie on the same radius-$R$ sphere. The bound vanishes at zero rotation and, for small axis error, scales approximately as $2R\sin (\theta /2){\alpha }_{\max }$. Opposite oriented axes represent the same rotation at $\theta =\pi$; the conservative inequality need not capture that special cancellation.

For an original rotary-tool example, $R=0.50\mathrm{m}$, $\theta =90^{\circ }$ and ${\alpha }_{\max }=1^{\circ }$ give an endpoint-error allowance of $0.01234\mathrm{m}$, about $12.34\mathrm{mm}$. A direction tolerance that looks small numerically can consume a substantial clearance margin at a long tool tip.

A combined pivot and axis uncertainty in rotational clearance must add or jointly bound pivot-location error, angle error and direction error without double-counting a shared coordinate-frame error. The fixed-axis formula in pivot-location uncertainty in a rotational clearance bound addresses a different contribution. For a proposed test, observe multiple rigid fiducials over several angles, fit pivot and direction, and validate independent endpoint measurements against the claimed enclosure. Geometric robot motion planning needs the resulting occupied-body bound along the path, rather than only at its final orientation.^[ref]