An object classification system for an automated vehicle includes a lidar and/or a camera, and a controller. The controller determines a lidar-outline and/or a camera-outline of an object. Using the lidar, the controller determines a transparency-characteristic of the object based on instances of spot-distances from within the lidar-outline of the object that correspond to a backdrop-distance. Using the camera, the controller determines a transparency-characteristic of the object based on instances of pixel-color within the camera-outline that correspond to a backdrop-color. The transparency-characteristic may also be determined based on a combination of information from the lidar and the camera. The controller operates the host-vehicle to avoid the object when the transparency-characteristic is less than a transparency-threshold.