Fuji-Xerox Introduces Copier-Translator Machine Prototype

by Lauren Nemec

Fuji-Xerox has introduced a prototype translator-photocopier machine that will be able to translate Japanese documents into English, Korean or Chinese with the touch of a button. Fuji-Xerox has not yet announced a price or launch date for the commercial version of the product.

It seems Fuji-Xerox is highly touting the feature that the copier can perform and print out the translation while preserving the document's original format. Wonderful as that is, I wonder how good the translation quality is and with what kind of machine translation software the product is equipped? Fuji-Xerox has not yet made this information publicly available. If the copier produces translations à la Altavista Babelfish, the quest to improve international business communications will have to continue... Only time and the market will tell.