[ODE] Controlling an avatar and the use of AMotors

[Patrick McColgan]

Hello

I'm trying to develop a character controller in ODE, I've already gone 
through the mailing list and read similar queries.  The recommended 
approach for maintaining something like a vertically standing cylinder 
is to use an amotor however I have extensively searched the mailing 
lists and beyond this recommendation there isn't much more support for 
the use of amotors themselves and their use in such a situation.

I haven't found the ODE manual particularily clear when discussing 
amotors either.

At the minute I have implemented an amotor between a sphere and the 
environment (i.e. nothing) and use dAmotorEuler (defining global y and x 
axis as the first and third axis) so it automatically defines the z axis 
as the second axis.

 From this it can return the relative rotations from the sphere's local 
axis and the global axis as Euler Angles.  Is this essentially what an 
amotor does?  Just returning the difference?  I don't find the use of 
Euler angles particularily useful.

I'd really appreciate if anyone had a more detailed approcah for the 
application of AMotors to maintain an avatar (i.e. keeping something 
like a cylinder upright).

Thanks