Plotting 3d position data over time

2
votes

I'm trying to plot the position of an object in 3D space (x, y and z co-ordinates) over time so that I can make predictions of the path the object might take.

I'm attempting to do this in Matlab, but the question is more general than that. I'm finding it hard to visualise how this would work. I understand how one would plot x and y positions over time (and that would make a 3d graph), but how would I add a third dimension?

I know about scatter3 in Matlab, but I need the motion to be a continuous line. Is this possible?

Thanks!

2
matlab3dplotposition

2 Answers

4
votes

I would plot the 4-D trajectory as a line in 3D with annotations at regular time intervals.

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3
votes

Nzbuu's answer is good. You can also use color/gradient as an extra dimension of information to communicate time. Or you can create an animation (or several serial snapshots of time).

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