A new method for determining the shape of an object by obtaining its d
ominant points or border corners is presented. The algorithm uses the
contour chain code as descriptor and calculates the curvature of each
border point, comparing two histograms of the chain code. The method i
s not only fast, with the detected corners stable to rotations and sca
ling, but also the curvature function presents a high signal-noise rel
ationship, and thus offers excellent performance for real contours.