Josef Noll

Professor
Norwegian version of this page
Phone +47-2284 2228
Mobile phone +47-9083 8066
Room 210
Available hours send SMS for appointment
Username
Visiting address ITS Gunnar Randers vei 19 2007 Kjeller
Postal address P.O.Box 70 2027 Kjeller

Research

"Internet had the ability to dismantle the digital divide. Internet failed completely, the divide is bigger than ever". This statement from Kate Gilmore (UNO Geneve) has triggered me to look into the challenges of #DigitalInclusion, #SocietalEmpowerment, especially seen as catalysts for the Sustainable Development Goals (#SDGs).  

Energy, Digital and Health are the building blocks for empowerment. Our contribution is the "free access for information for all", called #InternetLite. Through our DigI project we have demonstrated that #InformationSpots in each village are the enabler for #DigitalInclusion

"Life is wireless! The last time I was connected by wire was at birth, since them I'm wireless", that is really what my believe. Have worked with radio/wireless/mobile since I studied the topic, and still see lots of challenges. Did you know that:

  • The number of devices connected to the mobile network in Norway outranged the number of phones by a factor of two in 2012.
    This chance from a speech network towards the Internet of things (IoT) and the broadband Internet access are the main changes we experienced in the mobile network in the last years.
  • However: Though mobile networks are available all over the globe, still 77% of people in developing economies don't have decent (3G, 4G, 5G) mobile broadband access. 
    And to my opinion, we should concentrate on "connect the unconnected", thus contributing to a world of digital inclusion, and helping to catalyst the United Nation's Sustainability Development Goals (SDG 2030) 
  • The mobile phone is the key to the future Internet. Adjusted applications from sensors on your phone and tailored towards you is that what really counts in the future.
  • Automated processes will be based on sensor data, and those being able to handle adjustable security will win.
    Measurable and composable security for personal, corporate and sensor data is a real challenge in heterogeneous systems. 
  • The challenge is no longer to build networks, but rather how to manage networks:
    - Wireless networks need to deliver their speed in a reliable way
    - Our homes can contribute to making energy networks (Smart Grids) resilient against failures and attacks. 

Education and Courses

My focus is on Digital and Energy Equity, Grid & Smart Grid, and Wireless Networks and Information Security. I'm involved in the following courses

You can see all my presentations, addressing the 5G, 6G, SDGs, Digital Inclusion and Societal Security on the ITS Wiki.

Background

Interview of Josef Noll in the local newspaper Avis Groruddalen

We need to join forces for a networked knowledge society. I'm still amazed by the informal communication channels we have established, and these channels are a good start for innovation. I'd like to see a focus on technology-based innovations, as they are sustainable. This is my experience from working in the industry in Germany (Siemens), The Netherlands (European Space Agency - ESA) and Norway (Telenor). Though, my concern is that a purely revenue-driven economy will concentrate on "innovation for those who have everything already", and leave out the people at the bottom of the pyramid. That's why we created the Basic Internet Foundation, with the vision of "Internet lite for all", free access to information on the Internet. What about adopting the model of the road, where pedestrians and cyclists can use the road for free. Can't we adopt "digital cyclists" and "digital pedestrians"?

My main area of interest started with radio waves, enabling all from light, remote sensing to communication. And I had to use that knowledge in my first work as an integrated circuit designer at SIEMENS in München, looking into high-frequency effects of bonding wires. After my PhD time at the Ruhr-Universitet in Bochum, I continued at ESA with satellite-based remote sensing of snow, ice and vegetation. We had amongst others a measurement campaign on the Okstindan glacier in North Norway. I was amazed by my colleagues from Tromsø, working without gloves in the snowstorm we experienced. 

In Norway, I had the pleasure of joining the UMTS (3G) developing team at Telenor Research. Leading a team in Norway is so different from Germany, it's all about "collaboration". UMTS changed the focus from network building to service enabling. We worked a lot on international projects, and I got a really good network of industrial and academic partners. I joined Movation in 2006, a company jointly founded by Telenor, Opera, Fast, Nera Satcom, Comperio, Birdstep and Radionor for "moving innovation forward". Here I meet entrepreneurs with a good idea and try to contribute to technology-based innovation.

I really like to be at the forefront of applied research. Have recognised that I'm often too optimistic when it comes to new technologies reaching the market: We had an NFC-controlled coffee machine in Telenor back in 2002, and it took until 2013 that Near Field Communication (NFC) reached the market on smartphones. Thus, being able to work at UiO/UNIK allows me to focus on new trends, and evaluate them also with respect to industrial applicability. I had and have the opportunity of working together with PhD students from a.o. Bangladesh, Pakistan, Hungary, and other countries where Telenor operates a mobile network. This international perspective, combined with the network of innovative companies, allows me to understand challenges of the future, especially in a world of sensors/mobile phones driving automated processes. 

Master Thesis opportunities 

For an up-to-date opportunity on Master topics, please download the presentation on potential topics and see topics on our ITS-Wiki related to 

  • Participatory Energy transition
    • Monitoring and controlling the energy consumption of buildings
    • Machine Learning (ML) and AI using high-resolution power consumption data
    • Modelling energy systems including solar, hydrogen and wind
  • Digital Information and Information Access
    • Creating the information ecosystem for developing economies
    • Internet Lite, wireless information spots for empowerment
    • Internet access and provision for emerging economies 
  • Just Transition and Societal Security 
    • inclusive and green transition driving the digital transition
    • Energy and Digital Equity

Don't hesitate to contact me (best SMS/phone) if you find any of these topics interesting, or have another topic you'd like to work on. 

Collaboration

"There are days where I wonder if I really do research or just networking"

Collaboration is essential to understand the complexity of modern technological systems and to get good ideas for research collaborations. We have a well-established network at Kjeller, where the Internet came to Europe back in 1973. 

Finally, please let me ask for your support for an "Internet lite for all" and protect my privacy, "let me decide what to share on the Internet". 

 

Tags: SDGs, Agenda 2030, Sustainability, Energy Equity, Smart Grid, Digital Inclusion, ITS, radio, trådløse sensornettverk, wireless networks, mobile applications, informasjonssikkerhet, Internet of Things, measurable security, Embedded Systems

Selected publications

For an overview over publications, presentations and news articles, please visit references.jnoll.net

Video on Vimeo
See some of our activies on Vimeo https://vimeo.com/josefnoll
 
Published May 28, 2013 11:15 AM - Last modified Nov. 2, 2023 2:39 PM