• The animal nose is generally considered as the golden standard of chemical detector, as it is both sensitive and reliable. It is able to address a vast chemical space of hundreds of thousands of compounds. Yet, such performances would not be possible without the properties of the first sensing step in our nose: olfactory receptors. • It is thus tempting to conceive biology-inspired olfactory sensors which could take advantage of biologic noses without the constraints of either human or animal sniffing. This is what our laboratory intends to do, within the framework of a multidisciplinary, European collaborative project called "BOND", in the new, exciting, nanobiotechnology field. • Our idea is to immobilize the biological elements (olfactory receptors) in an ultra-miniaturised (possibly disposable) sensor stemming from nano-fabrication technologies, both for the supports and for electronic nano-circuits, and connected to a computer. At the crossroads of techniques in molecular biology and electronics, such a sensor would allow low-cost production for many applications. Besides, its association with artificial intelligence software, as already developed for traditional electronic noses could endow them with learning and evolutionary capabilities. • We envision the possibility of using them in such applications as medical diagnosis, environmental or occupational monitoring, and in the perfume/cosmetic industry, especially when hazardous or unknown chemicals are used or to make up for evaluation panels fatigue.