Hylio PHOTON Scout Drone

See Stress Before Your Eyes Can.

The Hylio PHOTON is the scout. It is not a spray drone. It is the eyes that tell you exactly where to send your spray drone, your scouts, your search team, or your inspection crew. Built for crop scouting, search and rescue, pipeline inspection, and disaster response, the PHOTON is the long endurance, multi sensor mapping aircraft Hylio designed to pair with the rest of their fleet.

If you are spraying without scouting first, you are guessing. The PHOTON ends the guessing.

💰 Build Your Package

The listed price reflects the PHOTON base configuration: aircraft with the standard FPV and mapping camera, software license, training, FAA documentation, and the 1-year warranty. Most operators add at least one specialty sensor to match their work. Contact Drone Spray Pro for a personalized quote on the right sensor stack and accessories.

Common options that change the final price:

• Thermal cameras (FLIR Duo R, FLIR Hadron 640R, WIRIS Pro)
• Multispectral cameras (Sentera 6x, MicaSense RedEdgeP)
• High resolution mapping camera (Sony ILX-LR1)
• Industrial 2-axis payload gimbal for custom sensors up to 1.8 lbs
• RTK base station for repeatable 0.6 inch positional accuracy
• Additional batteries and rapid chargers

📦 Configuration

• 1x Hylio PHOTON Scout Drone (fully assembled)
• FPV and Mapping camera (4K @ 30FPS, 1080P @ 60FPS, HDR compatible)
• 3-axis brushless gimbal with Lock Mode and Point of Interest tracking
• Silicon-anode intelligent battery
• Hylio Radar Sphere obstacle avoidance system
• Lifetime AgroSol Ground Control Software license (Standard Edition)
• Pro toolkit for repair and maintenance
• Comprehensive operator manuals plus simulation training program
• FAA documentation and regulatory consulting
• 1-Year Manufacturer Warranty
• Free domestic shipping to the 48 contiguous states

Optional add-ons include thermal cameras, multispectral cameras, RTK kits, and industrial payload gimbals. Talk to Drone Spray Pro about the right sensor stack for your work.

⚡ Key Performance Specs

📡 Cameras and Communication

• FPV and Mapping Camera: 1/1.7" CMOS sensor from OnSemi. 4K at 30 FPS, 1080P at 60 FPS, HDR compatible. The right tool for orthomosaic mapping and detailed visual inspection.
• Optional Thermal Camera: 640 x 480 at 60 FPS, NEdT under 35mK. Find heat signatures in crop canopy, locate people in search and rescue, and detect leaks or hot spots in industrial inspection.
• 3-axis Brushless Gimbal: Plus or minus 0.02 degree accuracy with Lock Mode and Point of Interest tracking. Stable footage even in 15 m/s wind.
• Encrypted Communication: 2.4 GHz with AES-256 encryption, LTE backup, GPS. Your data link is locked down by design.
• RTK Precision: 0.6 inch (1.5 cm) positional accuracy for repeatable mapping flights and tile-perfect orthomosaics.

🛡️ Built for Field Conditions

• Hylio Radar Sphere: True 360 degree millimeter wave radar avoidance. The aircraft sees obstacles in any direction at up to 65 feet, day or night, in dust, smoke, or low visibility.
• IP55 Rated: Light rain, dust, and the kind of weather that grounds consumer drones is not a problem. PHOTON is built to deploy when conditions get rough.
• One Operator Setup: Folds to 15.3 inches and weighs 3.1 pounds. Pull it from a backpack, deploy it in minutes, and put eyes in the sky from anywhere.

🌾 Use Case 1: Crop Scouting and Agronomy

• Detect crop stress, nutrient deficiencies, and disease outbreaks days before they show up to the human eye
• Generate prescription maps for variable rate application directly into your spray drone or ground rig
• Cover hundreds of acres in a single 55 minute flight
• Run repeatable scouting flights on the same fields with RTK for week to week comparison
• Pair with the Hylio PEGASUS, ARES, or ATLAS for a complete scout to spray workflow

🚨 Use Case 2: Emergency Response and Public Safety

• Rapid deployment ISR for incident commanders during disaster response
• Thermal EO/IR optional payload for search and rescue, day or night
• Real time orthomosaic maps for resource allocation and damage assessment
• AES-256 encrypted comms for sensitive operations
• IP55 rating for deployments in adverse conditions

🏭 Use Case 3: Industrial Inspection and Surveying

• Pipeline, energy infrastructure, and mining inspection
• Optional Lidar payload for precise 3D capture and volume calculations
• Persistent monitoring of remote assets where boots on ground are slow or dangerous
• Fault detection across expansive facilities

🎒 Compatible Payloads

The PHOTON ships with the standard FPV and mapping camera. Add specialty sensors as your work demands:

• Sentera 6x multispectral
• MicaSense RedEdgeP multispectral
• Sony ILX-LR1 high resolution mapping
• FLIR Duo R thermal
• FLIR Hadron 640R high resolution thermal
• WIRIS Pro long range thermal and visual
• Optional 2-axis industrial payload gimbal supports payloads up to 1.8 lbs (0.8 kg)

🇺🇸 American Made and NDAA Compliant

• Built in Richmond, Texas: Designed and assembled at Hylio HQ.
• NDAA Compliant: Eligible for federal, state, university, and public safety programs.
• Domestic Service: US based support, training, and parts.

📋 Licensing Requirements

Commercial drone operations in the US require FAA Part 107 certification. Public safety agencies operating under a Certificate of Authorization (COA) should consult with their local FSDO. Hylio includes FAA documentation and regulatory consulting with every aircraft. Drone Spray Pro can connect you with our recommended training partners.

💡 Drone Spray Pro's Take

The PHOTON is the missing piece for any operator running a Hylio spray fleet. Spraying blind is expensive. Chemicals are not free, and applying product to ground that does not need it is wasted money on every pass. Fly the PHOTON ahead of your spray work, generate a multispectral or thermal map, identify the actual stress zones, and send your spray drone only where it matters. That is how you cut your chemical bill and finish faster. The 55 minute endurance covers a lot of ground in one battery, the optical chain is professional grade, and the IP55 rating means it shows up to work even when the weather is borderline. Pair it with our Hylio ARES or ATLAS for a complete scout to spray operation, or run it standalone for emergency response or industrial inspection.