OWLF

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OWLF is the name of the fictional precision pheromone detection system (a network of modular detectors), which was used by the character Keyes and his men in their effort to track and capture the titular alien character in the science fiction film Predator 2.

What the acronym stands for is not apparent, but the function can be seen on a readout display in the covert trailer that Keyes and his men are using, next to a small icon depicting the face of an owl. A graph shows the relative concentrations of color-coded phermone particles, together with vectors, ranges, and XYZ coordinates. Judging from the display, the information provided by this network of military pheromone detectors is extremely precise, accurate, and useful -- if expensive, and perhaps time-consuming to set up.

Such a system would probably be very useful in battle or espionage, because the organism(s) being tracked would seem more likely to be stressed, so they might therefore put out stronger smells and be easier to detect. The system would also be passive, making it harder for the enemy to find it. The smell signature that the devices are scanning for may even be customizable. Although it seems impossible to be sure, it may even be feasile to build such a detection system in real life.

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