PCWorld has an interview with the director of the Consumer Electronics Lab, Michael Bove. The Consumer Electronics Lab is part of MIT's Media Lab. Bove calls out five areas of focus for the CEL:

1. Power
2. Sensors, actuators, and displays
3. Cooperative wireless
4. Self-organizing ecosystems of smart devices
5. New materials

Here's an example project on "location-based services with respect to community messaging".