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Electronic Play Mat

Turning a screen free play concept into a reliable, manufacturable product through DFM, supplier development, custom material validation, SOPs, tooling, testing, and pre production support.

⌂ > Case Studies > Electronic Play Mat

A screen free play product with a surprisingly complex manufacturing challenge

This is a children’s electronic play-product  built around an active play mat. Children step on different areas of the mat to trigger actions, sounds, and game modes. A rotating arm can move at different speeds and heights, so children can jump over or move under it depending on the game being played.

The product was designed to encourage physical play without relying on a phone, tablet, or screen. The user proposition was clear, but the engineering and manufacturing path was demanding. The mat needed to be safe, anti-slip, sensitive enough to detect foot pressure, durable enough for repeated jumping, and consistent enough to assemble in production.

The client came to Agilian with an existing concept, prototypes, and basic product requirements. Agilian’s role was to help identify production risks, improve the design for manufacturing, develop and manage key suppliers, create the assembly and quality control process, build tooling and jigs, and support the move into pre-production.
Electronic bord
PRODUCT type
Children’s screen free electronic play mat with moving arm game mechanics.
Main user benefit

Encourages physical play, individual or group games, and movement away from screens.

CORE CHALLENGE
Make a large multi layer, sensor enabled mat reliable, safe, anti slip, and repeatable to assemble.
Agilian scope

DFM review, supplier validation, SOPs, quality planning, jigs, tooling, and pre production support.

user
Support this product on Kickstarter

Help bring active, screen free play to more families.

This product is launching now on Kickstarter

We’re proud to have helped bring this interactive play product to life. This screen free game encourages children to move, think, and have fun together.

Support the project by becoming a backer on:

Electronic ks
View the Kickstarter campaign

A working prototype had to become a safe, repeatable, production ready children's product

The core product idea was already defined, but the product was not yet ready for stable production. Several of the most important risks were hidden inside the mat itself: material shrinkage, layer alignment, conductivity, touch detection, anti-slip behavior, and long-term durability under children jumping and playing.

01

Multi layer
mat behavior

The TPU and fabric layers had to stay aligned, detect pressure correctly, and survive repeated use without drifting, wrinkling, or losing consistency.
02

TPU shrinkage and material fit

TPU layers shrank more than expected, making the five layer structure difficult to match. Real measured dimensions became critical.

03

Conductivity and sensing reliability

Conductive layers, resistance, printing, and connector reliability all had to be controlled so foot presses were detected correctly.

04

Child safety and anti slip performance

The mat could not slide during play, and the rotating arm needed safe disengagement behavior when touched.

05

Custom supplier capability

Oversized top fabric, large TPU layers, custom anti slip film, and suitable ink printing suppliers all had to be sourced and validated.
06

Timeline and cost pressure

The client wanted to move quickly and control cost while the product still required validation, iteration, and careful risk control.
Electronic DFM 1
Electronic DFM 2

From DFM review to
pre production learning

The project moved through several overlapping workstreams. Agilian had to work on the product design, material stack, supplier network, assembly method, tooling, quality plan, and customer communication in parallel.

1
DFM review and risk identification
The client provided a designed sample, an actual mat sample, and basic product functionality. Agilian reviewed the concept and identified what needed to be improved before production.
2
Supplier development and custom material validation
The team worked with suppliers for conductive TPU layers, isolation layers, top fabric, anti-slip film, plastic parts, metal parts, and electronics. Backup suppliers were developed where interruption or capacity risk existed.
3
Tooling, assembly & testing, jigs & fixtures, & quality planning
SOPs were drafted during prototyping and tooling, then refined during pre-production iterations. The team also prepared incoming, in-process, and outgoing quality checklists as well as dedicated testing jigs for PCBA and Hall sensors. The processes for mat assembly, measurement, cutting, welding, and functional testing were set up.
4
Pre production iterations
The project required several assembly iterations to improve precision, quality, and process repeatability. Material matching and layer alignment were adjusted based on real incoming material behavior.
5
Split delivery and future cost-down pathway
Because material issues affected the ramp-up timeline, the team negotiated staged delivery and captured actions for later cost reduction, including lower-cost electronics, structural changes, and alternative materials.

Key areas where development effort mattered most

The main complexity came from custom materials, large format components, sensing reliability, child safety requirements, and the need to turn supplier variability into a controlled process.

01

Layer matching and TPU shrinkage control

Measured dimensions were used to sort and match TPU layers rather than relying only on nominal drawings.

02

Custom top fabric and supplier process support

The top fabric was unusually large, so Agilian worked closely with the supplier to improve consistency and process understanding.
03

Anti-slip bottom film development

The bottom film had to behave like a thin film while still delivering strong anti slip performance, making supplier validation critical.
04

Conductive TPU and printing requirements

Resistance, dimensions, and printing capability all needed tighter confirmation and clearer early standards.
05

Assembly tools and testing jigs

Agilian developed jigs for PCBA, magnet and Hall sensing, measurement, cutting, welding, assembly, and final checks.

06

Rotating arm and safety behavior

The rotating arm needed multiple speeds and heights, plus a safe disengagement behavior when touched, adding both control and mechanical complexity.

The product had to balance active play, safety, durability, and cost

The play mat looks simple from the outside: a child steps on a mat and plays a movement game. In production terms, it is much more complex. The mat behaves like a soft-good product, a sensor, a safety-critical surface, and an electronic subsystem at the same time.

This combination made early material validation especially important. A small change in TPU shrinkage, conductive ink behavior, top fabric size, bottom-film friction, or connector reliability could affect the entire assembly. The production process therefore needed more than basic assembly instructions; it needed measured incoming material controls, matching logic, defined tolerances, supplier quality expectations, and repeatable testing.
The most important lesson was that custom materials for a large-format children’s product should be validated as early as possible, ideally before committing to larger pre-production quantities. That prevents later material mismatch from becoming a production-line problem.
Electronic product
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The product was not just an electronic mat. It was a soft goods system, a sensing system, a safety surface, and a moving game mechanism. The production challenge was making all of those layers work together reliably.

Before vs After

A clear comparison showing the shift from a complex, hard-to-build prototype system to a more controlled production process.

Before

  • Working concept and prototype, but not yet production stable
  • Five layer mat structure vulnerable to TPU shrinkage and mismatch
  • Top fabric, TPU, and anti slip film suppliers still needing validation
  • Assembly SOPs and quality plans still being refined through iteration
  • Large pre production quantity requested despite unresolved material risks
  • Cost down needs competing with safety, durability, and reliability requirements

After

  • Clearer material matching process based on actual measured layer behavior
  • Improved supplier support and backup supplier strategy for custom materials
  • Assembly and testing processes refined through pre production builds
  • Dedicated jigs introduced for assembly, measurement, welding, PCBA, and functional testing
  • Split delivery approach used to manage schedule pressure while issues were addressed
  • Future cost down path identified through electronics, structural, and material alternatives

A complex children's play product moved closer to stable production

The project reached pre-production with a much clearer understanding of the material, supplier, assembly, and testing risks that needed to be controlled. The value of the case study is not in exposing confidential production data, but in showing how a promising active-play concept was translated into a more realistic manufacturing pathway.

Production risk made visible

The team identified the real manufacturing risks behind the mat stack, including shrinkage, layer alignment, conductivity, anti-slip behavior, supplier readiness, and assembly variability.

Supplier pathway strengthened

Difficult custom materials were sourced, validated, and improved with supplier support. Backup supplier work reduced interruption risk.

Assembly repeatability improved

SOPs, quality planning, and dedicated jigs helped move the product away from operator-dependent assembly and toward more controlled production.

Material validation lessons captured

The team captured a clear lesson for future projects: validate material behavior earlier and with smaller builds before committing to larger pre-production quantities.

Cost-down pathway identified

The team identified future reductions through lower-cost electronics, structural changes, and material alternatives while protecting the product’s safety and function.

Safety and reliability focus reinforced

Because the users are children, the project placed extra emphasis on anti-slip behavior, rotating-arm safety, durable mat sensing, and reliable play performance over time.

View the Kickstarter campaign
user
Support this product on Kickstarter

Help bring active, screen free play to more families.

This product is launching now on Kickstarter

We’re proud to have helped bring this interactive play product to life. This screen free game encourages children to move, think, and have fun together.

Support the project by becoming a backer on:

Electronic ks
View the Kickstarter campaign
user
Support this product on Kickstarter

Help bring active, screen free play to more families.

This product is launching now on Kickstarter

We’re proud to have helped bring this interactive play product to life. This screen free game encourages children to move, think, and have fun together.

Support the project by becoming a backer on:

Electronic ks
View the Kickstarter campaign

Building a product that combines electronics, custom materials, and real-world use conditions?

Tell us what you are building, where the risks are, and what you need to validate before committing to production.
Tell us about your project
View the Kickstarter campaign