Method for determining deformations on an object, wherein in an illumination process, the object is irradiated by means of at least one illumination device with electromagnetic radiation of at least such a frequency that the object reflects the electromagnetic radiation as reflected radiation, the object and the at least one illumination device being moved relative to each other in a direction of movement during the illumination process, in an observation process, the object being observed by means of at least one camera (3a, 3b, 3c) and at least two camera images being produced by means of the at least one camera (3a, 3b, 3c) by the observation at different times t i, i = 1,..., n, which image the respectively reflected radiation, in the camera images, at least one reflection (51a, 51b, 51c, 52) of the radiation on the object caused by a shape feature (41a, 41b, 41c) of the object being determined, in a polygonal chain step for at least one of the at least one reflections (51a, 51b, 51c, 52) in the at least two camera images, respectively one polygonal chain being determined, wherein here as a polygonal chain a linear shape in the respective camera image is understood, in which a plurality of points are respectively connected by straight lines, from the at least two camera images, a two-dimensional representation being produced, in which, in one dimension of the two dimensions, the times t i 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 at least one property of the at least one polygonal chain in the camera image being plotted as value at the points of the two-dimensional representation at the time t i at the location x, and at least one of the shape features (41a, 41b, 41c) being classified as deformation or non-deformation on the basis of the behaviour of the at least one polygonal chain over the at least two camera images. wherein in an illumination process, the object is irradiated by means of at least one illumination device with electromagnetic radiation of at least such a frequency that the object reflects the electromagnetic radiation as reflected radiation, the object and the at least one illumination device being moved relative to each other in a direction of movement during the illumination process, in an observation process, the object being observed by means of at least one camera (3a, 3b, 3c) and at least two camera images being produced by means of the at least one camera (3a, 3b, 3c) by the observation at different times t i, i = 1,..., n, which image the respectively reflected radiation, in the camera images, at least one reflection (51a, 51b, 51c, 52) of the radiation on the object caused by a shape feature (41a, 41b, 41c) of the object being determined, in a polygonal chain step for at least one of the at least one reflections (51a, 51b, 51c, 52) in the at least two camera images, respectively one polygonal chain being determined, wherein here as a polygonal chain a linear shape in the respective camera image is understood, in which a plurality of points are respectively connected by straight lines, from the at least two camera images, a two-dimensional representation being produced, in which, in one dimension of the two dimensions, the times t i 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 at least one property of the at least one polygonal chain in the camera image being plotted as value at the points of the two-dimensional representation at the time t i at the location x, and at least one of the shape features (41a, 41b, 41c) being classified as deformation or non-deformation on the basis of the behaviour of the at least one polygonal chain over the at least two camera images.