Reference
Robotics Cheat Sheet
A quick-reference guide for coordinate frames, common data types, units, and debugging tips. Bookmark this page.
Standard Convention
Robotics uses right-handed coordinate systems. This is the standard convention used across all major robotics frameworks and simulators.
Body Frame (base_link)
- X — Forward
- Y — Left
- Z — Up
World Frame
- X — East
- Y — North
- Z — Up
Optical Frame (Camera)
Cameras use a different convention (OpenCV standard):
- Z — Forward (into the scene)
- X — Right
- Y — Down
| Frame | Parent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| world / map | (root) | Global fixed frame, drift-free |
| odom | world | Continuous odometry frame, may drift over time |
| base_link | odom | Robot body center, rigidly attached to chassis |
| base_footprint | base_link | Projection of base_link on ground plane |
| laser_link | base_link | LiDAR sensor origin |
| camera_link | base_link | Camera mounting point |
| camera_optical | camera_link | Camera optical center (Z-forward) |
| imu_link | base_link | IMU sensor origin |