1. A method for obtaining information about a vehicle occupant in a compartment of the vehicle, said method comprising: mounting a light source in the vehicle; projecting structured light into an area of interest in the compartment, rays of light forming the structured light originating from the light source; detecting reflected light at an image sensor at a position different than the position from which the structured light is projected; and analyzing the reflected light relative to the projected structured light to obtain information about the area of interest.