Systems and methods for collecting and transmitting telematics data from a mobile device

1. A method of analyzing audio signals for a drive monitoring system, the method comprising:

recording an audio signal from a mobile device, the recorded audio signal including a background audio stream and a residual audio signal;

communicating with an audio database to obtain a reference signal, wherein the communicating uses a location identifier to determine input sources for the audio database, and wherein the location identifier is chosen from the group consisting of a global positioning system (GPS), cellular network, Wifi signature, and internet protocol address;

determining if the background audio stream in the recorded audio signal matches the reference signal;

if a match between the background audio stream and the reference signal is confirmed, computing a time alignment between the background audio stream and the reference signal;

aligning at least a portion of the recorded audio signal with the reference signal using the time alignment;

canceling the background audio stream from the recorded audio signal, wherein the remaining portion of the recorded audio signal, after cancellation of the background audio stream, comprises the residual audio stream; and

determining, with a computer processor, a driving behavior factor from the residual audio stream, wherein the driving behavior factor is chosen from the group consisting of: identification of a vehicle where the recorded audio signal was recorded, location of the mobile device within the vehicle, and speech recognition to identify the presence of passengers in the vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising calculating an insurance driving score for a driver based at least in part on the driving behavior factor.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

locating a radio station, based on a coarse geographic location from the location identifier, wherein the radio station has an online radio database to serve as the audio database;

comparing the recorded audio signal with the online radio database from the radio station to determine if a match is found between a selected signal in the online radio database and the background audio stream; and

using the selected signal in the online radio database, if a match is found, as the reference signal for computing the time alignment.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the recorded audio signal is a stereo signal comprising a left channel and a right channel, and

wherein the canceling comprises performing successive cancellation of the channels based on interference between the left and the right stereo channels.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

measuring a time delay between the left and right stereo channels; and

determining a location of the mobile device within the vehicle based on the time delay.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

analyzing the residual audio stream to detect the presence of an audio signature particular to a vehicle environment; and

identifying a vehicle based on the audio signature.

7. A method of analyzing audio signals for an automobile insurance system,

the method comprising:

recording an audio signal from a mobile device, the recorded audio signal including a background audio stream and a residual audio signal;

communicating with an audio database to obtain a reference signal;

determining if the background audio stream in the recorded audio signal matches the reference signal;

if a match between the background audio stream and the reference signal is confirmed, computing a time alignment between the background audio stream and the reference signal;

aligning at least a portion of the recorded audio signal with the reference signal using the time alignment;

canceling the background audio stream from the recorded audio signal, wherein the remaining portion of the recorded audio signal, after cancellation of the background audio stream, comprises the residual audio stream; and

determining, with a computer processor, a driving behavior factor from the residual audio stream, wherein the driving behavior factor is chosen from the group consisting of: identification of a vehicle where the recorded audio signal was recorded, location of the mobile device within the vehicle, and speech recognition to identify the presence of passengers in the vehicle;

wherein the communicating uses a location identifier to determine input sources for the audio database, wherein the location identifier is chosen from the group consisting of a global positioning system (GPS), cellular network, Wifi signature, and internet protocol address.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

locating a radio station, based on a coarse geographic location from the location identifier, wherein the radio station has an online radio database to serve as the audio database;

comparing the recorded audio signal with the online radio database from the radio station to determine if a match is found between a selected signal in the online radio database and the background audio stream; and

using the selected signal in the online radio database, if a match is found, as the reference signal for computing the time alignment.

9. A method of analyzing audio signals, the method comprising:

recording an audio signal from a mobile device, the recorded audio signal including a background audio stream and a residual audio signal;

communicating with an audio database to obtain a reference signal;

determining if the background audio stream in the recorded audio signal matches the reference signal;

if a match between the background audio stream and the reference signal is confirmed, computing a time alignment between the background audio stream and the reference signal, wherein the computing comprises taking pilot snippets of the reference signal and aligning the pilot snippets with a start time and an end time of the recorded audio signal;

aligning at least a portion of the recorded audio signal with the reference signal using the time alignment;

canceling the background audio stream from the recorded audio signal, wherein the remaining portion of the recorded audio signal, after cancellation of the background audio stream, comprises the residual audio stream; and

determining, with a computer processor, a driving behavior factor from the residual audio stream, wherein the driving behavior factor relates to automobile insurance;

wherein the communicating uses a location identifier to determine input sources for the audio database, wherein the location identifier is chosen from the group consisting of a global positioning system (GPS), cellular network, Wifi signature, and internet protocol address, and wherein the method further comprises:

locating a radio station, based on a coarse geographic location from the location identifier, wherein the radio station has an online radio database to serve as the audio database;

comparing the recorded audio signal with the online radio database from the radio station to determine if a match is found between a selected signal in the online radio database and the background audio stream; and

using the selected signal in the online radio database, if a match is found, as the reference signal for computing the time alignment.