FEATURE DESCRIBING THE SHAPE OF SPATIALLY DISTRIBUTED DATA SET

One aspect relates to a computer-implemented method for determining a skeleton of point cloud data in an automotive system for monitoring the environment of a vehicle. In order to determine the skeleton, a method of determining a central point of a point cloud data is performed multiple times, each time using different values for one or more starting parameters. The method may yield different central points depending on the selected values for the one or more starting parameters. The resulting plurality of central points is interpreted as the skeleton of the point cloud data.