In the solar panel inspection challenge, the team narrowly missed a medal despite delivering an outstanding performance under extremely demanding conditions. "The competition took place in strong winds and heavy rain, which prevented some teams from even taking off. Our students modified their drone directly on site: to reduce electromagnetic interference, they improvised additional shielding using metal cans, and they built a rain cover from cardboard and plastic foil. Thanks to these adjustments, the drone was able to continue flying despite conditions that truly tested both the technology and the students' ability to improvise," said Radovan Hájovský, head of the team from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
The students also performed exceptionally well in the search-and-rescue challenge. In the individual competition, which attracted around 80 participants—primarily professional firefighters and military personnel—both students finished within the top third of the overall rankings.
The third discipline was DronBall, a form of drone football. A friendly Czech–Polish match ended in a 2–2 draw, providing an entertaining spectacle and an opportunity to compare the pilots' skills in this unique discipline.
Although the VSB – Technical University of Ostrava team did not secure a medal this year, it received an Honorable Mention from a Colonel of the Polish Air Force. "The competition provided us with valuable experience, an opportunity to validate our technologies in real-world conditions, and inspiration for the further development of unmanned aerial systems," Hájovský added.
Dron LAB is a university-wide research group and student organization focused on the development and application of unmanned aerial systems. Its primary base is the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, where most team members are based. Students and researchers work on algorithm development, sensor data processing, hardware and software integration, and practical drone testing. A key part of the group's activities is rapid prototyping and validating new solutions in real-world environments.