Drones may be delivering food to Holly Springs residents soon

Flytrex is an international organization based in Israel offering drone supplies in 90 different countries.

NCDOT has been selected as one of 10 participants in the Federal Aviation Administrations Unmanned Aircraft systems Integration Pilot Program -- a program specifically focused on the future of drones in America.

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James Pearce, communications officer for NCDOT, said that the department is just taking baby steps toward this project. But he believes Holly Springs is a perfect place to begin testing these drones.

"Holly Springs has been a great community to work with," said Pearce. He said it was the perfect size, fast growing and out of the way of the Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

The FAA received 150 applications from towns around the country, but selected Holly Springs as one of the 10 winning programs.

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Flytrex is the only food delivery platform with a product on the market with drones. The aircraft are about 6 pounds in size.

"Flytrex will provide a revolutionary food delivery service to suburban areas, operating autonomous flights beyond visual line of sight above human beings," Flytrex said on its website.

The FAA program is expected to go through a two-and-half-year trial.

Holly Springs hopes that this "cutting edge" technology will "set the town apart and gain us national attention that could have significant positive effects," according to a town statement.

Holly Springs has already been using drones now for a few years in compliance with FAA regulations for engineering design, construction management and inspections.

In addition to the food drone delivery project in Holly Springs, Pearce said the NCDOT hopes to use drones to deliver medicine and blood samples in Wake County in the future.