Mountain View, California, residents will soon be able to order food, medicine and other small parcels to their homes via drone.

Although the exact date has yet to be finalized, Silicon Valley drone technology company Matternet will launch its pilot program in its home city later this year.

Matternet will start with a couple of drones to test the waters.

The company is still in talks with various merchants and vendors that could serve as partners for the service.

There will be a website and an app where residents can place orders from local businesses. The company is eyeing food and medicine deliveries as the drones can carry packages up to just 4.5 pounds. The drones will initially be limited to a 1.5-mile radius around the hub where the flying robots will be housed — on Ravendale Drive just off Highway 237 — but are capable of traveling within a 5-mile radius.

“We’re going to have initially one hub at our office, and we’re going to launch to serve a few residential neighborhoods around here,” said Andreas Raptopoulos, CEO and co-founder of Matternet. “The key thing is that we want the city and the residents to get excited about this service.”

While the drones are pilotless, they are monitored and controlled from a “mission control” center at Matternet’s headquarters. Once the drone picks up the package from the vendor or merchant, it brings it to the customer’s house or office. People will have the option of having the package dropped off at the front door or the backyard.

The drone then lowers the item via a cord while still hovering above ground, then flies back to the docking station at the hub.

For the pilot run, the delivery services will be free for Mountain View residents. Subsequent fees have yet to be determined.

The idea for drone deliveries came about several years ago, according to Raptopoulos, who co-founded the startup in Palo Alto in 2011.

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