Abstract:

Significance A systematic literature review was conducted in this study to understand the current status and emerging trends in smart clothing for the elderly, addressing the critical challenges an aging population poses. By reviewing the technological advances and performance evaluations over the past ten years, the review aims to focus on the key technological breakthroughs of smart clothing in various topics and to focus on the needs of the elderly population when building the evaluation system, with emphasis on the potential for smart clothing to enhance the quality of life for older adults, responding to elderly people's growing demand for technologies that promote independence, health monitoring, and safety. For the aging population, smart clothing is essential in terms of providing solutions that enhance both physical well-being and overall safety.

Progress In this review, a systematic literature review method (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, PRISMA) was used to select articles in the field of smart clothing for the elderly over the past decade. 44 papers were included for in-depth analysis to identify the major research topics and evaluation perspectives. This review explored technological innovations and emerging trends in smart clothing for the elderly by focusing on four key topics, i.e., health monitoring, assistive empowerment, safety protection, and wellness care. These topics represent the most pressing concerns for elderly individuals, particularly in terms of maintaining independence, safety, and comfort in their daily lives. By focusing on key breakthrough technologies within the key topics, this review provided targeted solutions for each of topics, thus further demonstrating the potential of smart clothing in supporting elderly living. To address the challenges posed by the multifunctionality of smart clothing and the absence of standardized evaluation criteria in this rapidly evolving field, this review developed a comprehensive performance evaluation system through an in-depth analysis of current evaluation perspectives. The system was designed to assess smart clothing based on four dimensions, which are the functionality, user experience, economic value, and sustainability. Functionality refers to how well the clothing performs its intended tasks, such as monitoring vital signs or detecting falls. User experience emphasizes the comfort, ease of use, and overall satisfaction of elderly users, which is crucial for adoption. Economic value involves assessing the cost-effectiveness and market feasibility of these innovations, while sustainability considers the environmental and long-term impacts of materials and design choices. The review placed particular emphasis on the importance of user-centered design, ensuring that smart clothing not only incorporates advanced technology but also remains accessible and intuitive for elderly users. This group faces many unique challenges-such as reduced mobility, sensory impairments, and varying degrees of technological literacy. By integrating cutting-edge technology with thoughtful, user-centered design, the literature analysis underscored the potential of smart clothing to enhance safety, promote health, and increase autonomy for older adults.

Conclusion and Prospect This review identifies significant technological breakthroughs and trends in five key topics of elderly smart clothing. (1) Health monitoring: Advances in precision sensors for smart health-monitoring garments are rapidly evolving, yet issues related to comfort and accuracy still require attention. (2) Assistive empowerment: Technologies that assist in improving lower limb functionality are being integrated into smart garments, but further refinements are needed in terms of system integration and user experience; GPS-based smart garments for wandering prevention are promising, yet improvements in location accuracy and reliability remain to be necessary. (3) Safety protection: Smart garments equipped with sensors and algorithms for fall detection show potential, though further research is needed to enhance the comfort and cost-effectiveness of cushioning materials. (4) Wellness care: Smart clothing offering personalized temperature control has made progress, but there is room for improvement in terms of response thermal comfort. (5) The integration of multiple functionalities is becoming a crucial trend in the development of smart clothing for the elderly, and health monitoring and wandering prevention have been widely adopted and are now seeing initial integration in elderly smart clothing. Future research should focus on increasing the integration of other functionalities, providing elderly users with comprehensive health and safety support. While considerable progress has been made in areas such as functionality, user experience, economic value, and sustainability, numerous challenges persist. These include the need for more representative test participants, broader data collection, and a stronger emphasis on catering to the diverse and personalized needs of elderly users. Moreover, the high costs and maintenance expenses of these products limit their market competitiveness. Finally, the lack of a unified standard for sustainability evaluation underscores the need for future research in areas such as material selection, structural design, and energy efficiency. Addressing these aspects is critical to optimizing the design and production of smart clothing for the elderly, ensuring that these products are both affordable and sustainable in the long run.

Key words: elderly smart clothing, health monitoring, smart wearable device, ageing appropriateness, safety protection, clothingevaluation system