element14 has launched the 'Build your own BoosterPack' portal that provides supporting resources to enable designers to create their own BoosterPack, an add-on board designed to work with one of Texas Instruments' (TI) microcontroller (MCU) LaunchPad evaluation kits. [ + ]

Toshiba has completed construction of a car-sharing system for the Lyon Confluence Smart Community Demonstration Project. [ + ]

Carbyne will be the strongest of a new class of microscopic materials if and when anyone can make it in bulk. If they do, they'll find carbyne nanorods or nanoropes have a host of remarkable and useful properties, according to Rice University theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson and his group. [ + ]

Mouser Electronics has announced that it has satisfied the rigorous audits of process control, quality management and risk management to be registered to AS9100C. [ + ]

Codan, an Australian-listed company which designs, manufactures and markets electronics solutions for global markets, has hired Dimension Data, an ICT solutions and services provider, to provide outsourced IT support. [ + ]

element14 has announced its new franchise with analog IC company Richtek Technology Corporation. This partnership includes an expansion of element14's portfolio of Richtek's extensive line of DC/DC converters and LDO linear voltage regulators. [ + ]

The Australian Solar Council is inviting abstracts for the Solar 2014 Scientific Conference to be held on 8/9 May 2014 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The conference brings together and highlights the latest achievements by Australian research scientists and engineers across all aspects of solar energy, energy efficiency and other renewables. [ + ]

Worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $25.87 billion for the month of August 2013, an increase of 6.4% compared to August 2012, marking the industry's largest year-over-year growth since March 2011, according to The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). [ + ]

Royal Philips and Accenture have announced the creation of a proof-of-concept demonstration that uses a Google Glass head-mounted display for researching ways to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of performing surgical procedures. [ + ]

Driven by demand for increased security in computers, authentication and the machine-to-machine (M2M) market, global shipments of cybersecurity microcontrollers (MCUs) are set to nearly double by 2017. [ + ]

An Australian researcher has developed a battery that could allow electric cars to run between cities with fewer stops to recharge. Dr Da-Wei Wang aims to produce a battery for electric cars that has much greater energy storage than the batteries available. [ + ]

The increasing volume of waste electrical and electronics equipment (WEEE) coupled with scarcity of precious metals, high cost of mining and limited landfill capacity have lent momentum to the European WEEE recycling market. [ + ]

Researchers at the Technische Universität München (TUM) have developed carbon nanotube-based gas sensors that rapidly detect and continuously respond to extremely small changes in the concentrations of gases including ammonia, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide. [ + ]

Researchers have developed a new technique that allows microprocessors to use light, instead of electrical wires, to communicate with transistors on a single chip. The system could allow for increasingly faster electronics, from supercomputers to laptops to smartphones. [ + ]

National Instruments has opened registrations for its 2013 NI Technical Symposiums. Events will be held in Melbourne on 29 October, Sydney on 31 October and Auckland on 7 November. [ + ]