Lahman: Xerox researchers lead the way
When the numbers are tallied at the end of each year, the patent data shows that Xerox Corp. is one of the world's most prolific research organizations. In 2013, Xerox was granted 1,013 new patents, and the Fuji Xerox joint venture produced an additional 800.
Collectively, that's a staggering amount of new innovation. But it's easy to lose sight of the individual inventors behind those numbers, some of whom have been remarkably prolific in their own right.
Jin Wu, a senior research scientist and project leader in the Xerox Consumables Development and Manufacturing Group, got his 300th patent earlier this year. He's added more than a dozen more patents since then, and has perhaps several hundreds patent applications pending. He's so prolific, that any attempt to nail down precise numbers is difficult: the numbers can change daily.
Wu's work at the Xerox research center in Webster has focused on developing new materials and processes for printing.
Lalit Mestha, a research fellow in Webster, received his 175th patent in May. It covers a method for monitoring a person's respiratory function from a video image. This technology has great potential in the field of remote medicine, allowing doctors to diagnose breathing conditions like asthma or sleep apnea.
It's also being tested as a way to monitor newborns by simply pointing a camera at them rather than using the traditional sensors stuck on with adhesive. This helps eliminate the discomfort that comes with that sort of monitoring, and more importantly the risk of irritation and infection that comes with attaching electrodes on to sensitive skin.
His milestone patent was one of several that Mestha has received over the last 18 months for similar technologies which could have a big impact on the world of health care.
Raja Bala received his 120th patent earlier this month for a method of personalizing pictures by adding text. His work on computer vision and video processing is being integrated into mobile applications and other projects.
Two other local Xerox researchers recently received their 75th patent. Stuart Schweid helped develop a method for precisely how much color ink is used for a print job. Xing Lin's 75th patent, issued in June, was for a system that allows high-speed press operators to more precisely bill their customers.
These are just a handful of the researchers at Xerox's research center in Webster who have received patents this year, helping to make Xerox one of the most innovative companies in the world.
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