Forward Kinematics

The default method of manipulating a hierarchy uses a technique called “forward kinematics”. The basic principles employed by this technique are:

• Hierarchical linking from parent to child
• Placement of pivot points to define the connecting joint between linked objects
• Inheritance of position, rotation, and scale transforms from parent to child

In forward kinematics, when a parent object moves, its children must follow. If the child wants to go off on its own, the parent remains behind. For example, in a hierarchical linkage of a human figure, when the torso (the parent) bends over, the head (the child) moves along with it, but you can turn the head without affecting the torso.