Location based services provided via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

An automated method that determines a location of a ground device, the method comprising:

• transmitting, from the ground device, a first pilot signal;
• receiving, at each aerial platform in a set of aerial platforms, the first pilot signal, wherein each aerial platform in the set of aerial platforms operates at an altitude that is less than fifty miles, and each aerial platform includes a propulsion element;
• determining a first set of values based on measurements associated with the first pilot signal, wherein the first set of values comprises a set of time of arrival (TOA) values;
• and
• calculating a position of the ground device based at least partly on the first set of values by triangulating distances derived from the TOA values.

A system that provides location information, the system comprising:

• a set of aerial platforms, each aerial platform comprising a radio sub-system that transmits and receives signals;
• a set of ground devices, each ground device comprising a radio sub-system that transmits and receives signals;
• at least one gateway that provides, to the set of aerial platforms and the set of ground devices, access to a distributed network comprising the Internet;
• and
• a location server that stores location information and calculates locations based at least partly on data associated with at least one aerial platform and at least one ground device, the location server accessible via the distributed network.