"A low-cost sensor able to perceive 3D information would be a breakthrough for a number of applications. Automotive applications would benefit from a low-cost obstacle detector to increase road safety; agricultural vehicles would be able to sense the environment and perform precise (and even autonomous) maneuvers improving their effectiveness; efficient sensing would be a key also to future building automation: elevators doors would close just after boarding and keep open when detecting people's intention to enter, automatic doors would not open when individuals would move in their sensed area but without the intention to cross the door. Even the entertainment industry, which lately invested massively on innovative and interactive sensors, would benefit from precise 3D sensors working even outdoor or in combination with multiple identical sensors.This proposal is aimed at preparing an engineered version of the current stereo-based system developed for vehicles within the OFAV ERC-funded Advanced Grant and currently under test in many other application domains. It is based on two microcameras and a smart software reconstructing the 3D environment; the software will be ported on a low-cost FPGA+DSP integrated into the sensor box, providing a small and light passive sensor for a variety of applications that nowadays either use other technologies (laser based) or are not able to reach the performance provided by this sensor (e.g. IR-based elevators' door control which is not working in highly illuminated sites and covers only smaller areas).The algorithm which is now working on a PC-based platform is owned by the team working for the OFAV Project and delivers superb results in terms of accuracy. This proposal is intended to provide resources to implement this solution in hardware and produce a low-cost, small-sized, and high performance sensor to be used in a very wide range of applications."