Fuji Xerox has developed a new photocopier that can scan a document written in English and then print a copy of it in Japanese or Korean. The photocopier can also do the reverse — translating Japanese or Korean to English — while almost magically maintaining the original layout.
The machine works by networking with a dedicated translation server while simultaneously using various programs to distinguish between actual words and, say, a coffee stain. It’s not available for mass-production just yet but the pessimist in me says it’ll be more useful for a laugh than an actual translation. [DigitalWorldTokyo via UberReview]
While some people would say that the iTravl is what I use to write my posts*, I don’t really know how well it translates between English and the eight languages it supports using its look-Ma-no-hands speech recognition system. Just for its cheesy, retro sci-fi look, however, I wouldn’t care if it translated my “Hello, where can I have a pizza, please?” to “Take your pants down and take me to your leader!” when I visit Moscow. Jump for more details and see my nipples explode with delight!
We mentioned a Star Trek-like Phraselater translation device a few years ago here on the Giz, but now it’s new and improved. The Phraselator P2 from VoxTec is a bulky-looking hand-held contraption that functions like the Tower of Babel in your hands.
Its maker says it’s ruggedized, unphased by a fumble onto pavement or a torrential rainstorm, and can translate phrases you speak in English into any language, and then translate back into English whatever people say to you. Hmm, that’s a lot of languages—perhaps that’s an exaggeration. Does it work, and how expensive is this thing?
