Error analysis of quaternion transformations [inertial navigation]

Three transformation formulas that relate the quaternions to the direction cosine matrix used in strapdown inertial systems are derived. An error model associated with the computed direction cosine matrix is briefly discussed. Error analysis is fully evaluated analytically and tabulated for comparison. Transformation errors associated with these formulas are analyzed. The drift errors evaluated under constant angular velocity are shown to vary slightly among three different transformations. It is shown that the skew errors in three transformation schemes are not all intrinsically zero. The scale errors may differ largely by two orders of magnitude among transformation schemes. This may become a criteria for selection of altitude transformation schemes