Imagine getting a document translated in record time by simply sticking it under what looks like a photocopier! That’s now possible with the help of Xerox’s new printer that doubles as a translator, albeit a rather inaccurate one as it relies on computer generated machine translation rather than more accurate (but slower) human translation.
The beauty of the machine is that it is so easy to operate. It will no doubt prove useful for companies that want a rushed translation job of a document for which accuracy is not so critical. It doesn’t need any expertise. Just stick the document face down under the printer lid and press a button after selecting the language preference.
The printer scans the document and uses character recognition software called the ‘Xerox Easy Translator Service’. Currently, the software can translate into around thirty different languages. The original document’s formatting and layout is retained, while if more precise translation services are required, then a human aided translation can also be done on the document, but obviously this takes more time to complete.
To ensure that translations can be provided to business customers, Xerox has teamed up with a North American company called Abbyy, which has developed the character recognition aspect of the software. The translation service provided by Xerox and Abbyy uses a cloud based glossary, which can be expanded and used for specified uses by companies, say for marketing translation projects, where words or phrases may be unique to that company.
Despite the well known limits of machine translation, it is likely that this form of translation services is only going to become more widespread in the future. Xerox and Abbyy have joined Google Translate and Microsoft’s Translates service which is used in conjunction with Skype. These services make communication across borders between businesses and their clients easier and more effective.
The Xerox service can be paid for using nearly a hundred different currencies from more than a hundred and fifty different countries worldwide. There is also a mobile app. and a website which means that documents can be uploaded on to a cloud based platform, translated by the Abbyy software and then extracted online by the end user.
