Systems and method are provided for controlling an autonomous vehicle. The systems and methods obtain first and second time spaced point clouds based on three-dimensional position data, of a scene outside of the autonomous vehicle, from sensor of the autonomous vehicle. The systems and methods position align a static aspect of the scene in the first point cloud with a static aspect of the scene in the second point cloud to obtain position aligned first and second point clouds. The systems and methods determine, via a processor, a velocity of a moving object in the position aligned first and second point clouds. The systems and methods perform an autonomous vehicle control function using the velocity of the moving object.