The DEAR project is one of the first experiments at the new DA Phi NE phi -
factory at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati dell'INFN. The objective of
DEAR is a precise determination of the isospin-dependent kaon-nucleon scat
tering lengths, through a 1% measurement of the K (alpha) line shift in kao
nic hydrogen and the first observation of the line shift in kaonic deuteriu
m.