How Google builds its maps

Cool story by Alexis Madrigal for the Atlantic, especially how the Street View cars fit into everything:

Google is up to five million miles driven now. Each drive generates two kinds of really useful data for mapping. One is the actual tracks the cars have taken; these are proof-positive that certain routes can be taken. The other are all the photos. And what’s significant about the photographs in Street View is that Google can run algorithms that extract the traffic signs and can even paste them onto the deep map within their Atlas tool.

Also: This neat new “Hello World” video showing off Google’s maps and Street View images, via Jeff Huber.