Life form indicator

A life form indicator (LFI), though typically grouped with sensors, was actually a sophisticated computer program designed to examine the information gathered by other sensors. The purpose of the life form indicator was to determine if a life-form was present and what kind of life-form it was. Information gathered by a full-spectrum transceiver on a starship might include data that a mobile heat-source was present, outputting at thirty degrees Celsius, and that the heat-source weighed eighty kilograms. The sensors would also determine that the ship's gravity was set at .96 Standard and the atmosphere contained a large amount of sulfur. With these readings, a life form indicator program would determine from the data available that the heat-source was a Sullustan.

The quality of a starship's life form indicator was governed by the sensitivity of the vessel's onboard sensors, and the intelligence of the computer responsible for analyzing the data.

Text and facts from the “Life form indicator” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.