1. An apparatus for replicating a 3-dimensional profile of an object, said apparatus comprising: an image-detecting device capturing a sequence of images, each image being captured during a time interval, each of said captured images being contained in an image frame having a left boundary and a right boundary, said image-detecting device generating signals representative of said captured image in said corresponding image frame; a light-source unit for projecting a stripe of light onto a plurality of locations on said object and creating a luminous contour line at each intersection of said stripe of light and said object, said light-source unit positioning said stripe of light relative to said object to create at least one luminous contour line during said time interval; and a processor coupled to said image detecting device and said light-source unit, said processor controlling said positioning of said stripe of light by said light-source unit on said surface, said processor receiving from said image-detecting device signals representative of two-dimensional coordinate points of detected contour lines, said processor synchronizing operation of said light-source unit with operation of said image-detecting device, whereby said image-detecting device detects a first sequence of image frames in which an n.sup.th image frame of said first sequence has images of contour lines each of which is uniquely positioned on said object between a first contour line detected in an (n-1).sup.th image frame of said first sequence and one of a second contour line detected in said (n-1).sup.th image frame which is adjacent to said first contour line detected in said (n-1).sup.th image frame, said left boundary and said right boundary, where n is an integer; wherein said processor processes, for said n.sup.th image frame, said signals representative of two-dimensional coordinate points of contour lines contained in said n.sup.th image frame to assign an angle value for angle of approach of said stripe of light on said object for each two-dimensional coordinate point of said contour lines contained in said n.sup.th image frame, said angle value corresponding to a range of lateral-dimension points for a given vertical-dimension point, said range of lateral-dimension points for said given vertical-dimension point being defined by lateral-dimension point of an image of a contour line detected in said (n-1).sup.th image frame and one of lateral-dimension point of an image of an adjacent contour line detected in said (n-1).sup.th image frame, said left boundary and said right boundary.