Dot product gives work, because it projects force along displacement—my actuator models use it for energy cost. Cross product gives torque, as it finds the turning effect from a force offset—I calculate joint torques this way daily. But in my robotics lab, the *real* difference is that cross products haunt me; one sign error in my code and the whole manipulator jerks wildly! So I treat cross products with more 'theko' and double-checking.
#work#career
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