Spatial AI & Autonomous Robotics Coordinate Frames (ROS 2)

ROS 2 Standard Coordinate Tree

  • map → odom → base_link → sensor_frame
  • map frame: World-fixed coordinate frame anchored to geodetic lat/long or UTM easting/northing.
  • odom frame: Continuous local odometry frame (wheel encoders + IMU drift-free in short term).
  • base_link: Rigid body center frame of the robot or autonomous vehicle.

1. Local ENU (East-North-Up) Navigation

Robotics algorithms operate in local Cartesian meters using East-North-Up (ENU) orientation rather than spherical degrees to calculate instant velocities and path trajectories.