MotionGenesis Home Page F=ma    Motion and Simulation Training
  • Contact Motion Genesis   to schedule training or on-site seminar.
  • Transportation and accommodations may be booked by either Motion Genesis or its client.
  • Other courses, options, and   textbooks   are available.
  • MotionGenesis Learning Lab (K-20).
  • Training is usually provided by a MotionGenesis consultant.
  • Please have estimates for the following:
    1. Event (e.g., professional training, instructor training, or academic seminar)
    2. Event type (e.g., basic/advanced motion simulation or control-system integration)
    3. Preferred schedule (several options are ideal)
    4. Desired number of software training licenses and/or textbooks
    5. Estimated budget and number of attendees
MotionGenesis Biomechanics (photo courtesy of OpenSim)



MotionGenesis: Sample 1-5 day motion and simulation training course


Vector operations

  • Notation: Syntactical form, constructors, RigidFrame, RigidBody.
  • Addition/negation/subtraction: Computation, uniform basis, mixed basis.
  • Dot and Cross: Command syntax, functions for calculating angles, distances, area, volume, ...
  • Ordinary time-derivative: Command syntax, need for a reference frame in computation.
  • Partial derivative: Command syntax, possible need for a reference frame in computation.

Rotational kinematics

  • Rotation matrix: Syntactical form, simple rotation matrix, successive rotations, matrix multiplication, command syntax, automated computation with syntactical forms.
  • Angular velocity: Syntactical form, simple angular velocity, angular addition theorem, use with vector differentiation, command syntax, automated computation with syntactical forms.
  • Angular acceleration: Syntactical form, definition, utility in formulas, command syntax, automated computation with syntactical forms.
  • Rotational Odes: Euler angles, Euler parameters, Rodrigues parameters, Poisson parameters.
MotionGenesis contact information


NASA 1998 Mars Orbiter

Translational kinematics

  • Position vector: Syntactical form, command syntax, automatic computation.
  • Velocity: Syntactical form, formulas for forming velocity, computation.
  • Acceleration: Syntactical form, formulas for forming acceleration, command syntax, automated computation with syntactical forms.

Mass distribution

  • Mass: Assigning mass of particles and bodies. Summing mass of particles, bodies, and systems.
  • Mass center: Syntax for body's center of mass. Calculating position, velocity, and acceleration of system mass centers.
  • Inertia properties: Assigning rigid body's via inertia dyadics, matrices, moments, and products. Calculating system inertia properties (dyadics, matrices, moments, products, and radii of gyration).
MotionGenesis NASA F15 over Mojave Desert

Force, torque, moment, power, work, and energy

  • Force: Syntactical form. Command syntax for adding forces to points. Command syntax for summing forces on points, particles, bodies, frames, and systems. Force models for gravity (local/universal), electrostatics, springs, dampers, etc.
  • Torque: Syntactical form. Command syntax for adding torque to reference frames. Torque models for viscous dampers, etc.
  • Moment: Command syntax for summing moments of forces on points, particles, bodies, frames, and systems about a designated point.
  • Power/work: Calculating system power and work done by dissipative forces.
  • Energy: Commands for kinetic/potential energy and energy checking functions.
MotionGenesis Oil pump / energy

Statics and dynamics

  • Translation: Command syntax for statics or dynamics using forces or Newton's equations for points, particles, bodies, frames, and systems.
  • Rotation: Command syntax for statics or dynamics using moments or Euler's equations (angular momentum principle) for points, particles, bodies, frames, and systems.
  • System: Command syntax for statics or dynamics of systems using generalized methods, e.g., Kane and Lagrange.

Simulation and code generation (C, Fortran, MATLABŪ, ...)

  • Linear algebraic equations: Solve, Input, Output, Units, and UnitSystem.
  • Nonlinear algebraic equations: Solve, initial guesses and convergence.
  • Nonlinear differential equations: Integration step, error tolerances, checking functions, graphing.
NASA Solar System Montage



Constraints (part of 3+ day course)

  • Augmented method: Augmenting constraints to equations of motion. Initial configuration and motion problems.
  • Embedded method: Determination of independent and dependent variables.
  • Mixed methods: Constrained systems with augmented and embedded constraints.

Efficiency (part of 3+ day course)

  • Configuration variables: Generating efficient simulation and control-systems codes.
  • Motion variables: Choice of angular velocity variables, generalized speeds, and independent/dependent subsets.
  • AutoZee: Automating the introduction of efficient intermediate variables.
MotionGenesis Space Shuttle Atlantis Liftoff

Linearization and control-system integration (part of 3+ day course)

  • Linearization: Nominal solutions, perturbations.
  • Efficient linearization: Efficient generation of linearized equations of motion.
  • Stability analysis: Eigenvalues, eigenvectors, system response.
  • Control system design: State-space feedback control techniques.
MotionGenesis Mars path-finder