Welcome to the future with these innovative inventions

The James Dyson Award competition is open to design engineering college students and recent graduates in 23 countries, and honors imaginative design solutions to global problems.

Ryan Mario Yasin (uh, that's not him in the photo) won the UK contest for his Petit Pli clothing line. It'll appeal to parents who are tired of shopping for clothes, only to watch their kids immediately grow out of them. The expandable outfits use pleats to stay small, but as the child grows, the clothes stretch and the pleats unfold, allowing the outfit to still fit. (Anyone else remembering those popcorn shirts from 20 years ago?)

The Petit Pli clothing line will compete against other national winners in October.

Better hope your kids like the style, because they won't grow out of the Petit Pli clothing for a while.

You can't buy the expandable clothes just yet, but Yasin reportedly is  working on raising money, and plans to make the first clothes in the UK.

Ryan Mario Yasin, the designer of the expandable clothing, told Dezeen.com he was inspired by his young nephew constantly growing out of clothes he bought for him.

Yasin used his background as an aeronautical engineer to inspire the clothes-that-grow, Dezeen reported.

Fibrefree laundry balls were a runner-up in the US competition. They're a specially designed laundry ball created to catch up to 40 percent of released microfibers in a load of laundry, thanks to a porous shell. It is made to be used in both the washer (to clean clothes more effectively) and dryer (to make clothes softer, reduce drying time and improving energy efficiency).

Watch Charles Keppler, one of the inventors, explain how they work.

Tao An Yu of the Rhode Island School of Design created this special cup for those with arthritis, Parkinson's Disease, or with visual impairments -- and won the US national Dyson award for 2017.

The cup comes with a lid with an easy-to-feel opening and a wooden dowel that floats when full. The easy-to-grip cup has a tapered body and rounded lip for easy pouring. An optional magnetic coaster keeps it stable, making filling it spill-free.

The cup's inventor said he interviewed residents at nursing and rehabilitation homes to identify the problems they had with regular cups, then addressed them in his design.

This odd-looking pill bottle, created by Artin Perse of New York University, seeks to fight the opioid epidemic by preventing users from overdosing. It dispenses one pill at a set time, then locks, and is tamper-proof. Called Peris, is was a national runner-up in the US competition.

Watch a video to see it in action.

Dubbed "Thomy," this insulin kit for children with type 1 diabetes contains temporary tattoos to remind the user where they have previously injected the insulin, as well as an insulin pen designed specifically for a child's hand. It was created by Renata Souza Luque of the Parsons School of Design, and was a national runner-up in the US.

The Strada walker, created by Jack Koby and Carly Keyes of the University of Oregon, was built because the designers realized most walkers are not user-friendly, and cause their owners to hunch their backs and strain their wrists while using them. 

The Strada, by contrast, utilizes upright design, adjustable forearm supports, special hand grips and low-impact tires, making for smoother use. It was a US national runner-up.

William Mason, of Australia's Queensland University of Technology, won Australia's national award for creating Activ, a family of chemotherapy treatment products designed to reduce the stress and life impact of chemo on the daily activities of patients. 

Mason said when a close family member was diagnosed with cancer, he witnessed first-hand how difficult routine tasks became. The Activ Pump can be worn discreetly under clothes, out of sight and harm's way.