CAMBRIDGE, MA—Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a way for robots to home in on moving objects with unprecedented speed and accuracy.

By now, many of you have begun fiddling with some new electronic gadget that Santa left under the tree. How’s it going? Is it everything you expected, or are you overwhelmed?

Manufacturers of complex products, such as engines and transmissions, have long been using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to error-proof their processes, document quality, and deal with high-mix production.

At Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI)—the world’s largest automotive seat maker—sustainability has become just as important as innovation.