Sir Robert Stawell Ball and methodologies of modern screw theory

Abstract

The theory of screws was largely developed by Sir Robert Stawell Ball over 100 years ago to investigate general problems in rigid body mechanics. Nowadays, screw theory is applied in many different but related forms including dual numbers, Plilcker coordinates and Lie algebra. An overview of these methodologies is presented along with a perspective on Ball. Screw theory has re-emerged after a hiatus to become an important tool in robot mechanics, mechanical design, computational geometry and multi-body dynamics.