I remembered seeing a documentary here in Australia in the 1980s  about
scientists using a fisheye lens to survey city streets and others have
mentioned seeing this show also. After a little bit of digging and help
from the people at Beyond 2000 (A science broadcast), I obtained the
following information.

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CITY CAMERA


Bart Beers "Frank R &D"
C/- Geeris Holdings
PO Box 321
5260 AH Vught
Netherlands
PH: 31 73 579 140
FX: 31 73 569 356


Despite the advent of electronics and infra-red technology, surveying
city streets and buildings is still a labour intensive and often
dangerous job. but now, a new technique dubbed 'Frank' could change
all that. Using a 360 degrees camera mounted on a mobile test bed, the
task of mapping a city will become easier and more efficient. Topographical
photographs are compiled and edited on computer, giving city authorities
an instant, precise 3-D view of the environment.

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The documentary showed mobile vans equipped with cameras using fisheye
lenses to capture 360š images of the local streets. These images were then
remapped on computer to generate rectilinear views.

(Contributed. Additional factual details appreciated.)