This family of transformations is usually performed in three steps. First, a geodetic input point is transformed to 3D geocentric coordinates according to the horizontal datum. Then a core transformation is performed, and finally the geocentric coordinates are transformed back to geodetic coordinates. The control parameters for a Helmert transformation specify the details of the core transformation. In general, the core transformation consists of a rotation around the x axis, a rotation around the y axis, a rotation around the z axis, a scaling that is the same for all dimensions, and a vector shift (any combination of x, y and z), performed in that order. Rotations may be performed using the “position vector” convention or the “coordinate frame” convention, which simply have opposite sign from each other. When viewing from the origin of the coordinate system, looking in the positive direction along the axis of rotation, position vector rotation moves the point in a clockwise direction while coordinate frame rotation moves the point in a counter-clockwise direction for positive angles.
This is a type of Helmert transformation that uses coordinate frame rotation. The "SevenParameter CFR" DatumShift has the following Parameters:
Parameter Name |
Parameter String |
Units |
X Translation |
dx |
|
Y Translation |
dy |
|
Z Translation |
dz |
|
X Rotation |
rx |
|
Y Rotation |
ry |
|
Z Rotation |
rz |
|
Scale Factor |
k |
Double |
This is a type of Helmert transformation that uses coordinate frame rotation and skips the scaling step. The "SixParameter" DatumShift has the following Parameters:
Parameter Name |
Parameter String |
Units |
X Translation |
dx |
|
Y Translation |
dy |
|
Z Translation |
dz |
|
X Rotation |
rx |
|
Y Rotation |
ry |
|
Z Rotation |
rz |
This is a type of Helmert transformation that skips the rotation step. The "FourParameter" DatumShift has the following Parameters:
Parameter Name |
Parameter String |
Units |
X Translation |
dx |
|
Y Translation |
dy |
|
Z Translation |
dz |
|
Scale Factor |
k |
Double |