A method of acquiring surface shape information of a three-dimensional object, the method which comprises: providing an optical sensor configured to generate three-dimensional data from a single exposure, the sensor having a projection device (2, 3) and a camera; causing a relative movement between the sensor and the three-dimensional object; projecting a pattern (M1, M2) with the projection device onto the three-dimensional object and recording a sequence of at least partially overlapping images of the projected pattern with the camera, said pattern having a plurality of first lines extending in a given direction and a plurality of second lines extending in a different direction traversing the first lines; determining a sequence of 3D data sets from the recorded images; performing a registration between subsequently obtained 3D data sets, and determining a surface shape of the three-dimensional object, wherein the method comprises further: forming the pattern by projecting a first pattern with the first lines and recording an image with the camera, and subsequently projecting a second pattern with the second lines and recording an image with the camera, and continuing with an alternating projection and recordation of the first and second patterns; and projecting said first pattern with a first projector of said projection device and projecting said second pattern with a second projector of said projection device, each of said projectors having an optical axis (5, 6), and the optical axis of the camera enclosing a first angle with the optical axis of the first projector defining a first triangulation plane and the optical axis of the camera enclosing a second angle with the optical axis of the second projector defining a second triangulation plane, said triangulation planes are perpendicular to one another. providing an optical sensor configured to generate three-dimensional data from a single exposure, the sensor having a projection device (2, 3) and a camera; causing a relative movement between the sensor and the three-dimensional object; projecting a pattern (M1, M2) with the projection device onto the three-dimensional object and recording a sequence of at least partially overlapping images of the projected pattern with the camera, said pattern having a plurality of first lines extending in a given direction and a plurality of second lines extending in a different direction traversing the first lines; determining a sequence of 3D data sets from the recorded images; performing a registration between subsequently obtained 3D data sets, and determining a surface shape of the three-dimensional object, wherein the method comprises further: forming the pattern by projecting a first pattern with the first lines and recording an image with the camera, and subsequently projecting a second pattern with the second lines and recording an image with the camera, and continuing with an alternating projection and recordation of the first and second patterns; and projecting said first pattern with a first projector of said projection device and projecting said second pattern with a second projector of said projection device, each of said projectors having an optical axis (5, 6), and the optical axis of the camera enclosing a first angle with the optical axis of the first projector defining a first triangulation plane and the optical axis of the camera enclosing a second angle with the optical axis of the second projector defining a second triangulation plane, said triangulation planes are perpendicular to one another. forming the pattern by projecting a first pattern with the first lines and recording an image with the camera, and subsequently projecting a second pattern with the second lines and recording an image with the camera, and continuing with an alternating projection and recordation of the first and second patterns; and projecting said first pattern with a first projector of said projection device and projecting said second pattern with a second projector of said projection device, each of said projectors having an optical axis (5, 6), and the optical axis of the camera enclosing a first angle with the optical axis of the first projector defining a first triangulation plane and the optical axis of the camera enclosing a second angle with the optical axis of the second projector defining a second triangulation plane, said triangulation planes are perpendicular to one another.