The Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU) will participate in the international trade fair and professional forum Future Forces Exhibition & Forum for the third time, taking place from 21 to 23 October 2026. Its spin-off company, ProLab Engineering, will showcase not only the autonomous HECTHOR platform in new applications, but also Orbitron, an entirely new crewless aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing. According to its developers, the six-meter version will be able to remain airborne for up to 24 hours and achieve a range of up to 2,000 kilometers. Petr Hnízdil from ProLab at CZU's Faculty of Engineering discusses the latest innovations, cooperation with other Czech companies and educational institutions, and why university-developed technologies should not remain confined to laboratories.
ProLab is participating in the Future Forces Forum for the third time. What are you bringing to this year's event?
Our main message is that ProLab Engineering, a university spin-off company, develops technologies primarily designed to protect lives and property and help people. We do not want to develop systems whose primary purpose is to take lives, and our products reflect this philosophy.
This year, we have also succeeded in bringing together several Czech technologies and young, innovative companies. One example is our collaboration with VoidStraider, a company developing a patented compressed-air demining system. Put simply, it is described as an air cannon. We are adapting our autonomous HECTHOR platform to serve as a carrier for this system. The resulting product, therefore, combines their technology with ours.
The solution also includes a system designed to protect HECTHOR against drones. It uses four nozzles that can deflect an approaching drone with a powerful stream of air. No projectiles are involved, eliminating the risk of uncontrolled projectiles injuring someone. The system operates at a distance of approximately six to seven meters. You could describe it as an air shield.
What other applications will you present at the Future Forces Forum?
We will have two HECTHOR platforms on display. One will demonstrate the platform's potential as a carrier for a counter-drone system. For example, interceptor technology is being developed in Brno, involving drones specifically designed to neutralize other drones.
HECTHOR can transport such a system to a designated location, remain there for extended periods thanks to its high-capacity batteries, monitor the surrounding area, and deploy an interceptor when needed. That is another example of how a single universal ground platform can accommodate a wide range of technologies.
The biggest innovation will be the new Orbitron crewless aircraft.
That is a project we have been working on for several years. It is a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. It can take off like a drone, but thanks to its wings, it can subsequently fly much more efficiently and remain airborne for significantly longer.
We have developed two versions. The smaller model has a wingspan of approximately three meters and is intended for more general applications. However, the six-meter version, featuring a hybrid propulsion system and a combustion engine, is particularly interesting.
One of the areas we are developing it for is the monitoring of large geographical areas. We work closely with firefighters, for example, and a crewless aircraft capable of remaining airborne for extended periods can be extremely useful during major forest fires. It eliminates the need to deploy a helicopter continuously to monitor an entire area, which would be considerably more expensive.
Read the full interview on our ŽIVÁ UNIVERZITA website.
Future Forces Exhibition & Forum 2026 will take place from 21 to 23 October 2026 at PVA EXPO PRAHA.