Geometric algebra and singularities of ruled and developable surfaces

Abstract

Any ruled surface in Euclidean 3-space is described as a curve of unit dual vectors in the algebra of dual quaternions (=the even Clifford algebra of type (0,3,1)). Combining this classical framework and Singularity Theory, we characterize local diffeomorphic types of singular ruled surfaces in terms of geometric invariants. In particular, using a theorem of G. Ishikawa, we show that local topological type of singular (non-cylindrical) developable surfaces is completely determined by vanishing order of the dual torsion, that generalizes an old result of D. Mond for tangent developables of non-singular space curves. Our approach would be useful for analysis on singularities arising in differential line geometry related with several applications such as robotics, vision theory and architectural geometry.