1. A method of sensing a physical feature of or along a path of a vehicle, comprising: a. projecting at least one fan beam of light from a vehicle onto a path along which said vehicle can travel, wherein said at least one fan beam of light is oriented substantially along a direction of travel of said vehicle, each said at least one fan beam of light generates a corresponding at least one light stripe along a surface of said path, and said at least one fan beam of light is substantially aligned with a corresponding at least one corresponding tire track of said vehicle, so as to provide for said at least one fan beam of light to intersect said corresponding at least one corresponding tire track of said vehicle for a corresponding projected trajectory of said vehicle; b. capturing at least one pair of stereo image components of said at least one light stripe; and c. processing said at least one pair of stereo image components of said at least one light stripe so as to provide for sensing a physical feature of or along said path.