  Recently, the last two modules (out of seven) of the ALICE High Momentum
Particle Identification detector (HMPID) were assembled and tested. The full
detector, after a pre-commissioning phase, has been installed in the
experimental area, inside the ALICE solenoid, at the end of September 2006. In
this paper we review the status of the ALICE/HMPID project and we present a
summary of the series production of the CsI photo-cathodes. We describe the key
features of the production procedure which ensures high quality photo-cathodes
as well as the results of the quality assessment performed by means of a
specially developed 2D scanner system able to produce a detailed map of the CsI
photo-current over the entire photo-cathode surface.
  Finally we present our recent R&D efforts toward the development of a novel
generation of imaging Cherenkov detectors with the aim to identify, in heavy
ions collisions, hadrons up to 30 GeV/c.
