Location Based Services analysis through Analytical Hierarchical Processes - an e-health-based case study

Abstract In Location Based Services, there is often the need to find out which positioning technology is best fit to a certain target service and how to design a certain service or application according to users’ needs and various constraints. One solution to tackle such problems is to use tools from the Multi-Criteria Decision Making theory. This chapter presents one of the MCDM approaches, namely the Analytical Hierarchical Processes, which can be applied in many scenarios and parts of LBS applications. After describing what AHP is and how it can be applied in the context of wireless localisation, a simplified example is given, based on location-based services in the e-health area. The e-health area has been chosen here as one of areas highly relevant for the social well-being, where localisation is becoming of utmost importance. In this chapter, also the challenges in choosing the right wireless localisation technology to support various LBS and the possible open directions are emphasized, in such a way that the reader could further find an easy mapping of AHP to his/her own LBS-related questions.