Objects are detected in real-time at full VGA 30 frame per second resolution. A preprocessor performs run-length encoding (RLE) and generates a summed area table (SAT) of an image. The RLE and SAT are used to identify candidate objects and to iteratively refine their boundaries. A histogram of gradients (HoG) and support vector machine (SVM) then reliably classify the object. The method may be part of an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS).