On google earth how do they get the pictures of homes from the street view?

They have vehicles that drive around and capture images. Seriously. Google it.On google earth how do they get the pictures of homes from the street view?
They have a fleet of vans and cars that drive around neighborhoods and take multiple pictures with a series of cameras on top of a pole. (no really).



Here are some pictures of the cars.

http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=en%26amp;sou鈥?/a>On google earth how do they get the pictures of homes from the street view?
They drive by in a van with a camera mounted on the roof looking in many directions (including up and down) at the same time. Software puts the pictures together adding intermediate viewpoints.On google earth how do they get the pictures of homes from the street view?
Google owns a fleet of cars fitted with 360 degree panoramic cameras.



http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2004/2445鈥?/a>