1. An apparatus for identifying an object from a video signal representing an image of the object, the apparatus comprising: feature data extracting means for converting the video signal into boundary gradient and contour data representing the boundary of the object; means, coupled to said feature data extracting means, for processing said boundary gradient and contour data to identify abrupt changes in the gradient of the boundary of the object as a series of object points; means for generating primitive element data associated with each of a plurality of segments singly disposed between adjacent ones of said object points on the boundary of the object and distance map data associated with said primitive element data to represent the positional relationships of each of said segments with respect to said object points in the boundary of the object, said primitive element data comprising characteristic data to identify said associated segment as (1) a straight line, (2) a circle or circular arc, or (3) an ellipse or an elliptical arc; dictionary memory means for storing reference primitive element data and reference distance map data associated with a plurality of known, reference objects, said reference primitive element data including reference characteristic data identifying the contour of said associated reference object as one reference segment or a combination of reference segments wherein each reference segment comprises (1) a straight line, (2) a circle or circular arc, or (3) an ellipse or elliptical arc, said reference distance map data representing the positional relationships of each reference segment in the boundary of a reference object; and means, coupled to said processing means, said generating means, and said dictionary memory means for correlating said primitive element data and said distance map data associated with the object and said reference primitive element data and said reference distance map data associated with said reference objects and stored in said dictionary memory means to identify the object as the one of said reference objects with the greatest correlation with the object.