We live in an age of increased specialization: physicians who treat just one ailment, scholars who study just one period, network administrators who know just one operating system. However, researchers at MIT’s Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS) have shown that, in a number of different contexts, a little versatility could be a good thing. Their theoretical analyses could have implications for operations management, cloud computing—and possibly even healthcare delivery and manufacturing.

First responders, including firefighters and police officers, must often take action in potentially lethal situations. Bounce Imaging seeks to decrease the danger for these individuals with a throwable ball that can automatically detect potential dangers in advance. As the ball is bounced into an unseen space, its built-in camera and sensors transmit crucial information to a mobile device.

A new kind of 3D display developed at HP Labs plays hologram-like videos without the need for any moving parts or glasses. Videos displayed on the HP system hover above the screen. Viewers can walk around the display and experience an image or video from as many 200 different viewpoints—like walking around a real object.

Today, information overwhelms everyone. But how can people learn to make sense of it? One intensive economics course at MIT is built around doing just that, by getting undergraduate students to produce research papers while working closely with faculty.