SUPR
Whisper service for: To Enhance or Not to Enhance: Gender, Hybrid Identities and Exoskeletons in the Armed Forces.
Dnr:

sens2025521

Type:

NAISS SENS

Principal Investigator:

Vanessa Noack

Affiliation:

Uppsala universitet

Start Date:

2025-01-22

End Date:

2026-02-01

Primary Classification:

50902: Gender Studies

Allocation

Abstract

This thesis analyses the relationship and potential entanglement between humans and military exoskeletons by considering the construction and development of exoskeletons as augmenting technology from a feminist perspective. Exoskeletons are wearable robotic devices directly integrated with the user’s body and vary between full-body exoskeletons, upper-body, lower-body, or specific body segments such as the ankle, hip, and thumb (Bai et al. 2018). They can be rigid or soft, and either battery-powered, passive (no battery), hydraulic, or a combination of battery power and human power (ibid.). Architecting such a device requires redefining the relationship between the technology and humans as end-users, in this case, soldiers. In my work, I aim to explore and analyse how practices of militarised masculinities are manifested in and through military exoskeletons by analysing websites of companies producing exoskeletons and conducting semi-structured interviews with developers, end-users, and researchers. This project will provide insights into the current state-of-the-art development processes for military exoskeletons by examining online materials from three different companies. Additionally, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with producers, developers, and (prospective) users of exoskeletons to understand how these devices are designed, how usability is considered in relation to identity construction, and how researchers view the future of exoskeletons in the armed forces.