The new ways of smart driving and using a vehicle demand reliable and affordable versatile perception systems. These systems need to be accurate and trustworthy both for what can happen inside of the vehicle, as well as the outside of it. The driver and passenger monitoring, as well as the environment surrounding monitoring, must be improved to be failure-proof in all light and weather conditions. For both of these topics, the extension of current perception systems (mainly based on visible imaging, LIDAR and RADAR detection) to the thermal sensing is a priority. Thermal sensing, especially in the LWIR (=6 to 14 μm) bandwidth, provides valuable additional information and has to be considered as a must for the next generation of L4 (‘’Eyes off’’) and L5 (‘’Mind off’’) autonomous driving. In this context, the HELIAUS project aims to deliver breakthrough perception systems for in-cabin passengers monitoring, as well as for the car surrounding by developing smart thermal perception systems that extend the current systems to the LWIR bandwidth. The main objectives of the HELIAUS are four-fold: -developing cutting-edge and cost effective technologies leading to low cost, high performance LWIR module, -specifying, developing, testing and validating the thermal perception systems first prototypes for in-cabin and out-of-cabin application, -quantifying the valuable addition of the thermal sensing into the current systems and future systems, -and promoting the benefit of such systems in the future autonomous vehicles, and for smart mobility in general. HELIAUS is a first and essential step to the creation of a future industrialized affordable thermal perception systems. The project will largely contribute to the global competitiveness of the European transport and smart mobility industry.