A Standard Rigid Transformation Notation Convention for Robotics Research
Philippe Nadeau
TL;DR
This work tackles the lack of a canonical, interoperable notation for rigid transformations in robotics. It analyzes current conventions, notably ICRA 2023 usage, and introduces the RIGID notation, designed to be ISO 80000 compliant, concise, and unambiguous, accompanied by a LaTeX package and software tools for practical adoption. By formalizing exhaustive and concise forms and mapping them to software identifiers, it aims to reduce miscommunication and enhance cross-paper and cross-system reproducibility. The approach promises to streamline documentation and integration across robotics research and development.
Abstract
Notation conventions for rigid transformations are as diverse as they are fundamental to the field of robotics. A well-defined convention that is practical, consistent and unambiguous is essential for the clear communication of ideas and to foster collaboration between researchers. This work presents an analysis of conventions used in state-of-the-art robotics research, defines a new notation convention, and provides software packages to facilitate its use. To shed some light on the current state of notation conventions in robotics research, this work presents an analysis of the ICRA 2023 proceedings, focusing on the notation conventions used for rigid transformations. A total of 1655 papers were inspected to identify the convention used, and key insights about trends and usage preferences are derived. Based on this analysis, a new notation convention called RIGID is defined, which complies with the "ISO 80000 Standard on Quantities and Units". The RIGID convention is designed to be concise yet unambiguous and easy to use. Additionally, this work introduces a LaTeX package that facilitates the use of the RIGID notation in manuscripts preparation through simple customizable commands that can be easily translated into variable names for software development.