Object classification procedures, including: the
receipt of sensor data (402) associated with an object observed by a
sensor system (28) of an autonomous vehicle (10); determining a limiting curve (810, 820, 901, 902) associated with the sensor data (402) using a processor; determining a variety of boundary curve features based on a set of convexities (811, 813, 815, 817, 821, 823, 825, 827, 829, 911, 913, 921, 923) and concavities (812, 814, 816, 818, 822, 824, 826, 828, 912, 922) that are assigned to the boundary curve (810, 820, 901, 902); and classifying the object by applying the multitude of boundary curve features to a
machine learning model and obtaining a classification output that classifies the object to assist in controlling the autonomous vehicle (10); where the boundary curve features include slopes (971, 972, 973, 974) between adjacent convexities (811, 813, 815, 817, 821, 823, 825, 827, 829, 911, 913, 921, 923) and concavities (812, 814, 816, 818, 822, 824, 826, 828, 912, 922).