Controlling a parking lot sensor

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program, which is executable by a processor, comprising:

• a program code arrangement having program code for controlling a parking lot sensor, which includes a sensor for scanning a predetermined measuring area, the program code, when executed by a processing device, by causing the processor to perform the following:
• determining, via a control unit of a vehicle sensor or a processing device of a central management unit outside the vehicle, an expected fluctuation of vehicles in the measuring area, wherein the expected fluctuation indicates how frequently an average change occurs in a determination value of a presence of a vehicle in the measuring area;
• determining, via the control unit of the vehicle sensor or the processing device of the central management unit outside the vehicle, a scanning frequency based on the expected fluctuation;
• and
• controlling, via the control unit, as a function of the scanning frequency, the sensor respectively for performing a scan, in a energy saving manner and a reduced response time, of the parking lot;
• wherein a frequency of the average change of the determination value in a past time period is stored, and the scanning frequency is determined based on a frequency of the average change occurring prior to a predetermined time span.

A parking lot sensor, comprising:

• a sensor for scanning a predetermined measuring area;
• a control unit to control the sensor for performing a scan, in an energy saving manner and a reduced response time, and to determine, based on a scanning result, the presence of a vehicle in the measuring area;
• and
• a communication device for transmitting the determination result to a central management system;
• wherein the control unit is configured to control a scanning frequency as a function of an expected fluctuation of vehicles in the measuring area, wherein the expected fluctuation indicates how frequently an average change occurs in a determination value of a presence of a vehicle in the measuring area;
• wherein a frequency of the average change of the determination value in a past time period is stored, and the scanning frequency is determined, via the control unit of the vehicle sensor or a processing device of a central management unit outside the vehicle, based on a frequency of the average change occurring prior to a predetermined time span.

A management system for a parking lot having multiple parking spaces for vehicles, comprising:

• multiple parking lot sensors, each assigned to a parking space, each of the parking lot sensors including a sensor for scanning a predetermined measuring area, a control unit configured to control the sensor for performing a scan, in an energy saving manner and a reduced response time, and to determine, based on a scanning result, the presence of a vehicle in the measuring area, and a communication device for transmitting the determination result to a central management unit,
• wherein the control unit is configured to control a scanning frequency as a function of an expected fluctuation of vehicles in the measuring area, wherein the expected fluctuation indicates how frequently an average change occurs in a determination value of a presence of a vehicle in the measuring area, wherein the expected fluctuation is determined by the control unit of a vehicle sensor having the sensor or a processing device of a central management unit outside the vehicle,;
• and
• the central management unit having a receiver device for receiving determination results of a parking lot sensor;
• wherein a frequency of the average change of the determination value in a past time period is stored, and the scanning frequency is determined based on a frequency of the average change occurring prior to a predetermined time span.