Swiss company Matternet will begin testing its delivery drones in Raleigh Wednesday in a program operated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The company will deliver vials of water from a medical office building on Sunnybrook Road to the roof of WakeMed.
WRAL.com first reported on this in February.
The North Carolina program is one of 10 the FAA chose nationally to determine if drones can be used commercially.
The testing will gradually expand until drones carry medical supplies and samples between WakeMed hosptials and facilities.
Matternet previously made medical deliveries by drone in Switzerland, but this is a first it has been done in the United States.
NCDOT will hold a public meeting Thursday, Aug. 30, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Perry Health Sciences campus at Wake Tech Community College to offer information about the drone program and obtain feedback.
Another firm, Israel-based Flytrex, will test the use of drones to deliver food in Raleigh this fall and NCDOT plans a public meeting in Holly Springs ahead of the test.
