Fuji Xerox has developed a photocopier that scans articles in Japanese newspapers and magazines and prints them out in English, Korean or Chinese (and vice versa), retaining the layout of the original. Somehow, I doubt that this new device will seriousy threaten the livelihood of professional human translators. Unless some miraculous new technology has been developed for the actual translation function, my guess is that it will produce computerized translations on the level of the web-based translators we've all seen, like Babelfish and Google Language Tools. Instant translations, however rough they may be, are better than nothing in a pinch, and sometimes produce very funny results - not that anyone will buy this copier, which I expect will be fairly pricey, for entertainment value alone.

Via Digital World Tokyo.