Development of an integrated platform for modular smart garments

The rapid advancement of wearable technology has highlighted the need for efficient manufacturing processes, yet significant challenges regarding flexibility, reusability, and scalability remain prevalent in smart garment production. Addressing these limitations, an integrated platform that synergistically combines modular hardware with dedicated design software was developed. This specialized software supports circuit layout design, 3D visualization, and preparation for wire embedding. Furthermore, a novel modular connection system based on spring-loaded (pogo pin) connectors with magnetic fixation was designed. This mechanism ensures stable electrical connectivity while allowing easy module replacement. The platform’s effectiveness was validated through quantitative experiments and the fabrication of a full prototype. Crucially, the experiments demonstrated that the software’s optimization feature significantly improves the ergonomic stability of module placement compared to manual methods (p < 01). These findings confirm the reliability of the connection mechanism and the system’s real-time monitoring capabilities, indicating that the proposed approach facilitates efficient prototyping and practical deployment of modular smart garments.