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We present the technical specifications and first results of the ESA-funded,lunar monitoring project "NELIOTA" (NEO Lunar Impacts and Optical TrAnsients)at the National Observatory of Athens, which aims to determine thesize-frequency distribution of small Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) via detection ofimpact flashes on the surface of the Moon. For the purposes of this project atwin camera instrument was specially designed and installed at the 1.2 mKryoneri telescope utilizing the fast-frame capabilities of scientificComplementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor detectors (sCMOS). The system providesa wide field-of-view (17.0' $\times$ 14.4') and simultaneous observations intwo photometric bands (R and I), reaching limiting magnitudes of 18.7 mag in 10sec in both bands at a 2.5 signal-to-noise level. This makes it a uniqueinstrument that can be used for the detection of NEO impacts on the Moon, aswell as for any astronomy projects that demand high-cadence multicolorobservations. The wide field-of-view ensures that a large portion of the Moonis observed, while the simultaneous, high-cadence, monitoring in twophotometric bands makes possible, for the first time, the determination of thetemperatures of the impacts on the Moon's surface and the validation of theimpact flashes from a single site. Considering the varying background level onthe Moon's surface we demonstrate that the NELIOTA system can detect NEO impactflashes at a 2.5 signal-to-noise level of ~12.4 mag in the I-band and R-bandfor observations made at low lunar phases ~0.1. We report 31 NEO impact flashesdetected during the first year of the NELIOTA campaign. The faintest flash wasat 11.24 mag in the R-band (about two magnitudes fainter than ever observedbefore) at lunar phase 0.32. Our observations suggest a detection rate of $1.96\times 10^{-7}$ events $km^{-2} h^{-1}$.

NELIOTA: The wide-field, high-cadence lunar monitoring system at the prime focus of the Kryoneri telescope