Method and apparatus for determining deformations on an object

A device for determining a deformation or deformations on an object comprising:

• at least one illumination device with which a measuring region, through which the object can be moved, can be illuminated with electromagnetic radiation of at least such a frequency that the object reflects the electromagnetic radiation as reflected radiation,
• at least one camera with which the object can be observed, whilst it is moved through the measuring region, and with which, by the observation, at least two camera images can be produced at different times ti, i=1, . . . , n, which image the respectively reflected radiation,
• having furthermore an evaluation unit with which at least one reflection on the object, caused by a shape feature of the object, can be detected in the camera images,
• for at least one of the at least one reflection in the at least two camera images respectively a polygonal chain being able to be determined,
• a property of the at least one polygonal chain being able to be calculated,
• from the at least two camera images, a two-dimensional representation being able to be produced, in which, in one dimension of the two dimensions, the times ti are plotted, at which the at least two camera images are produced and, in the other of the two dimensions, termed x-dimension, a spatial coordinate perpendicular to the direction of movement being plotted, and the at least one property of the at least one polygonal chain in the camera image being entered as value at the points of the two-dimensional representation at the time ti at the location x, and
• the at least one of the shape features being able to be classified as deformation on the basis of a behavior over time of the at least one polygonal chain over the at least two camera images;
• wherein the deformation constitutes a dent on the object.