Rotation Fixed - Sequence of Transformations - Demo 09¶

Purpose¶

Make the rotations work correctly by thinking about the problem more clearly.

We do this by the following:

Read sequence of transformations from modelspace to worldspace in the reverse order, from bottom to top.
Each subsequent transformation is relative to the current local coordinate system.

How to Execute¶

On Linux or on MacOS, in a shell, type “python src/demo09/demo.py”. On Windows, in a command prompt, type “python src\demo09\demo.py”.

Move the Paddles using the Keyboard¶

Keyboard Input	Action
w	Move Left Paddle Up
s	Move Left Paddle Down
k	Move Right Paddle Down
i	Move Right Paddle Up
d	Increase Left Paddle’s Rotation
a	Decrease Left Paddle’s Rotation
l	Increase Right Paddle’s Rotation
j	Decrease Right Paddle’s Rotation

Description¶

In Demo 07 we tried to represent the translation and then rotation around the paddle’s center by code that worked as follows

$\vec{f}_{p}^{w} = \vec{r} \circ \vec{t}$

where t and r are the translate and rotate functions for a paddle, and we read the functions from right to left. (In code, we were reading the method chaining from top-down, as that is the order in which the function calls are evaluated.)

But that caused erratic behavior of the paddle over time, as it was not rotating around its own origin. It was not working.

So in Demo 08 we fixed it by writing a “rotate_around” method, in which we translated the paddle to its position, then in order to rotate around its center, we re-centered the paddle, did the rotation, and then re-translated to the paddle’s position.

$\begin{split} \vec{f}_{p}^{w} & = (\vec{t} \circ \vec{r} \circ {\vec{t}}^{-1}) \circ \vec{t} \\ & = \vec{t} \circ \vec{r} \circ {\vec{t}}^{-1} \circ \vec{t} \\ & = \vec{t} \circ \vec{r} \circ ({\vec{t}}^{-1} \circ \vec{t}) \\ & = \vec{t} \circ \vec{r} \end{split}$

So translate and inverse translate cancel out, and demonstrate to us that the rotate function actually needs to be applied first, then the translate function. Which means that we were actually reading the function applications in the wrong order! Intuition can lead us astray!

To understand why the code in this demo works, you can think about it in one of two ways, forwards or backwards.

Reading transformations top-down¶

When reading a composition of function calls top down, all the transformations happen relative to the global origin and axes, i.e. the natural basis. After each function call, the basis is set back to the origin basis.

src/demo09/demo.py¶

        paddle1_vertex_in_world_space: Vertex = paddle1_vertex_in_model_space.rotate(paddle1.rotation) \
                                         .translate(paddle1.position)

Reading transformations bottom-up¶

Alternatively, you can read the transformations backwards, where the operations all cumulatively modify the current axes and origin, i.e. basis, to a new basis. All subsequent functions move that relative basis to a new relative basis.

src/demo09/demo.py¶

        paddle1_vertex_in_world_space: Vertex = paddle1_vertex_in_model_space.rotate(paddle1.rotation) \
                                         .translate(paddle1.position)

Suggested Order¶

The author has a strong opinion on the matter for computer graphics.

Start at world space node. As a reminder, this is the top-level coordinate system that we choose to use. It is whatever you want it to be.

Think of world space’s origin, x and y axes. On the Cayley graph, move towards each modelspace node, which is against the direction of the edge, Look at that edge’s corresponding sequence of function calls in the graphics code. Read the transformations from the bottom up, imagining a transformed local coordinate system against which each function in the sequence operates.

The data you plot that is in its own modelspace will actually be plotted relative to that transformed coordinate system.

For the linear-algebra inclined reader, we’ve used

$L * (M * \vec{x}) = (L * M) * \vec{x}$

to understand a complicated sequence of matrix multiplications, modifying L by a right-multiplication of M.

src/demo09/demo.py¶

        paddle1_vertex_in_world_space: Vertex = paddle1_vertex_in_model_space.rotate(paddle1.rotation) \
                                         .translate(paddle1.position)

Now go back to world space. Think of all modelspace data as having already been “plotted”. So now follow the edges to screen space, reading the transformations from top down, and resetting the coordinate system after every transformation.

src/demo09/demo.py¶

        paddle1_vertex_in_ndc_space: Vertex = paddle1_vertex_in_world_space.uniform_scale(scalar=1.0/10.0)

As a side note, the computer has no notion of coordinate systems. It just has a sequence of procedures to apply on a sequence of numbers. For us humans to make sense of what we are modeling, and to implement it correctly, we need to be able to reason and compose our thoughts clearly.

Code¶

The Event Loop¶

src/demo09/demo.py¶

while not glfw.window_should_close(window):

src/demo09/demo.py¶

    glColor3f(paddle1.r, paddle1.g, paddle1.b)

    glBegin(GL_QUADS)
    for paddle1_vertex_in_model_space in paddle1.vertices:
        # doc-region-begin paddle 1 transformations
        paddle1_vertex_in_world_space: Vertex = paddle1_vertex_in_model_space.rotate(paddle1.rotation) \
                                         .translate(paddle1.position)
        # doc-region-end paddle 1 transformations
        # doc-region-begin paddle 1 scale
        paddle1_vertex_in_ndc_space: Vertex = paddle1_vertex_in_world_space.uniform_scale(scalar=1.0/10.0)
        # doc-region-end paddle 1 scale
        glVertex2f(paddle1_vertex_in_ndc_space.x, paddle1_vertex_in_ndc_space.y)
    glEnd()

Read the modelspace to world space, starting from the bottom, up. Translate, then rotate
Reset the coordinate system
Read the worldspace to NDC

src/demo09/demo.py¶

    glColor3f(paddle2.r, paddle2.g, paddle2.b)

    glBegin(GL_QUADS)
    for paddle2_vertex_model_space in paddle2.vertices:
        paddle2_vertex_world_space: Vertex = paddle2_vertex_model_space.rotate(paddle2.rotation) \
                                                                       .translate(paddle2.position)
        paddle2_vertex_ndc_space: Vertex = paddle2_vertex_world_space.uniform_scale(scalar=1.0/10.0)
        glVertex2f(paddle2_vertex_ndc_space.x, paddle2_vertex_ndc_space.y)
    glEnd()

Read the modelspace to world space, starting from the bottom, up. Translate, then rotate
Reset the coordinate system
Read the worldspace to NDC