Abstract: A method in a vehicle is disclosed. The method includes: detecting an object in image data; defining a bounding box that surrounds the object; matching the object to data points in a point cloud from a LiDAR system; determining three-dimensional (3-D) position values from the data points for pixels in the image data; applying statistical operations to the 3-D position values; determining from the statistical operations a nature (real or imitation) of the object; determining a size for the object based on the 3-D position values; determine a shape for the object based on the 3-D position values; recognizing a category for the object using object recognition techniques based on the determined size and shape; and notifying a vehicle motion control system of the size, shape, and category of the object when the nature of the object is real to allow for appropriate driving actions in the vehicle.