Xerox is a company that’s founded on - and thrives on - innovation. The Xerox Innovation Group explores the unknown, invents next-generation technology and creates new business and shareholder value through its five worldwide research centers and associated operations.

      Created in 2001, XIG includes everything from the scientists who invent new technology to the experts who obtain and protect the patents and intellectual property, to the managers who deliver the technology to Xerox business groups, use it as the foundation of startup businesses, or license it to an outside company to bring value to their products.

      XIG divides its functions into four areas: research and technology, intellectual property management, business development for licensing and new business opportunities, and business unit operations. XIG business units and spinoff companies generate revenue by providing software, services and new devices.

      Xerox continues to push the frontiers of research and technology by reinventing its machines and systems, rethinking how people work, and redefining “the document” - seeking ways to make paper smarter as well as to develop new forms of data displays. XIG also collaborates with Xerox business groups to select and implement the architectures and technologies that enable winning product and component platforms.

      Research and technology activities are conducted at centers in the United States, Canada and Europe and often in collaboration with Fuji Xerox. In 2002, Xerox spent $917 million on research and development, or about 6 percent of its $15.8 billion in revenue. The $580 million spent by Fuji Xerox raised the total Xerox group commitment in R&D to about $1.5 billion in 2002.

Research and technology

      Building on core research inventions, advanced development teams from Xerox’s five research and technology centers engineer the under the hood technologies and platforms that make Xerox products superior in the industry. Working hand in hand with Xerox business groups, researchers focus on four key areas: marking systems, materials, digital imaging, and solutions and services. The R&T centers also develop research, technology and business concepts that give Xerox growth opportunities in new markets.

      The Imaging and Services Technology Center , founded in 2003, combines expertise from the previous Digital Imaging Technology Center and the Solutions and Services Technology Center. The ISTC continues to serve as the focal point for Xerox’s core competence in digital imaging, as well as in color image processing, software and systems architecture, work process studies and software component development. Its researchers are in Webster, N.Y.; El Segundo and Palo Alto, Calif.; and Redmond, Wash.

      ISTC develops software and services for two primary areas. First, it supports Xerox’s traditional office and production systems with benchmark digital imaging technologies that are key for Xerox’s participation in the rapid growth of color printing, and in solutions such as one-to-one communications and on-demand printing. It also creates services that benefit end-users, such as software that helps machines correct or repair themselves. Second, its research helps form the foundation of new offerings for Xerox’s Global Services business.

      The Wilson Center for Research and Technology has attained international recognition for its pioneering work on xerography, which provided the technical and patent basis for Xerox imaging products from the 1960s to today. It continues to discover new ways to put images on paper and other media and to enhance images electronically.

      Today, Wilson Center scientists focus on leading the company’s drive to providing customers with affordable color technology, and on extending Xerox’s product functionality to create valuable customer services in the Internet age. They leverage proprietary and leading-edge external technologies to inject innovative elements into platforms used as the basis for Xerox product families. Their work spans the entire scope of document production, including image evaluation, image processing, marking processes, media handling, microsystems, embedded systems controls and device controls. In particular, they develop future marking engine platforms that emphasize color, improved media latitude, benchmark image quality and cost of ownership.

      The Palo Alto Research Center Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox and an integral part of Xerox’s strategy for long-term research investment. Founded in 1970 as part of Xerox Research, PARC was incorporated in 2002 as an independent research business.

      As the birthplace of technologies such as laser printing, Ethernet, the graphical user interface, and ubiquitous computing, PARC has an established track record for transforming industries and creating commercial value. PARC has delivered lasting value to Xerox, for example, as laser printing became a multibillion-dollar business for Xerox. PARC also was the birthplace of Xerox’s DocuPrint network printing software, the dual-beam lasers used in many Xerox products, and the scheduling software of the Xerox DocuColor iGen3 Digital Production Press.

      Xerox continues to embed relevant PARC technology into its product and solutions offerings. PARC is also delivering its innovations to a wider range of non-competitive industry partners than ever before. Together, PARC and Xerox are defining a new vision for how pioneering research creates commercial impact. Current research includes diverse areas such as semiconductor lasers, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), scalable smart environments, wireless networks, security, linguistic analysis, information interaction, community knowledge sharing, and biomedical sciences.

      Xerox Intellectual Property Operations manages the creation and protection of Xerox’s intellectual property; in 2002, Xerox and Fuji Xerox received nearly 900 U.S. patents. IP strategies and policies are developed and implemented in alignment with corporate technology, product and market strategies. Invention disclosures are analyzed, rated and, as appropriate, recommended for either patent prosecution, public disclosure or trade secret retention. XIPO ensures that other companies respect Xerox intellectual property rights by enforcing Xerox rights through various licensing and other settlement arrangements, or by defending Xerox from the assertions of others. XIPO is also responsible for obtaining strategic cross-licenses with key companies.

      The Xerox Engineering Center, which reports into both XIG and Business Group Operations, manages Xerox’s platform planning and product delivery effectiveness, striving to make technology innovation a strong foundation for Xerox’s profitable revenue growth. The center’s responsibilities include nurturing strong engineering leaders; enabling benchmark growth in systems, hardware/materials and software technologies; prioritizing the Xerox R&D portfolio; keeping strategic technology roadmaps and platform architectures current; and strengthening Xerox engineering capabilities through Web-enabled tools and processes. Global platform development is coordinated with Fuji Xerox. The XEC also drives consistency in the “look and feel” of all Xerox products and their systems coherence - as demonstrated in the interoperability and the seamless fit of Xerox products in customers’ environments.