Fuji Xerox touts language-translating photocopier

Fuji Xerox has come up with some unique copying systems before, and it looks like its latest photocopier is no exception, with it promising to take a Japanese document and spit out a English, Chinese, or Korean translation on the fly (or vice versa). That's done by networking the printer to a dedicated translation server which, if similar systems are any indication, could well result in some unintentionally hilarious copies. What's more, the device also promises to preserve the original layout of the documents copied, with it apparently making use of some special algorithms to distinguish between text, lines and images. It's just a prototype at the moment, however, so there's no indication as to when or if we might see a commercial version.

[Via Crave]

[Tim @ Sep 21st 2007 3:00PM]

"All your base are belong to us!"

[Ben @ Sep 21st 2007 3:15PM]

No sure what this story has to do with a 6180 (pictured). :P

[zfurie @ Sep 21st 2007 4:21PM]

That tanslated to Engrish is "I, for one, welcome our Xerox overlords"

[zfurie @ Sep 21st 2007 4:24PM]

Or in Russian = "In Soviet Xerox, we photocopy you!"

[Akiosarin @ Sep 21st 2007 6:58PM]

lol Russian xD I cant get over that sentence xD damn verbal wall is too high =(

[Jayson @ Sep 23rd 2007 7:57PM]

@Ben: That doesn't look like a Phaser 6180, rather I think it is the Xerox DocuPrint C2100. Note the red button which the 6180 version does not have. Virtually the same printer but the 6180 is the US model Phaser branded while the one in the picture looks like the FX DocuPrint branded machine.

[OnZeFly @ Sep 21st 2007 3:25PM]

--- I am really magic to see how such apparatuses to come us to the delivery from our comprehension from the narrow languages and others are closed less ---

[joe23521 @ Sep 21st 2007 3:30PM]

You took the words right out of my mouth.

[MacGyver @ Sep 21st 2007 3:51PM]

The can't translate a single sentence properly using a web browser... what makes them think it will be any better when done directly in hardware?

[Chekote @ Sep 21st 2007 4:11PM]

Because web browsers use free (and inferior) software to translate. There are some vastly superior enterprise level solutions available. Whether they will incorporate those into the photo copier and incur the cost increase is another thing.

[Muu @ Sep 21st 2007 4:00PM]

Very grateful this I will use for translate speaking languages to english. Fish of babel no more needed for tonsil approximation.

[l10n @ Sep 21st 2007 6:14PM]

I've worked in the localization/translation industry for a couple of years now. I can't wait to get a call from a client who reads this and wants to know why we're charging him thousands of dollars to do translation, layout, and QC of his manuals when all we have to do is run the stuff through the 'magic copier.'

Please Fuji-Xerox, stop letting the marketing people write the press releases before talking to the engineers.

[Jonny @ Sep 21st 2007 7:06PM]

You seem to be implying that Xerox don't know much about translation, layout and QC of manuals.

[cc @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:53AM]

Machine translation is the holy grail for engineers, mainly because it frees them of the need to talk to people who have liberal arts degrees...