Perception plays a pivotal role in both biological and technological interactions with the environment. Recent advancements in whisker sensors, drawing inspiration from nature’s tactile systems, have ushered in a new era of versatile and highly sensitive sensing technology. Whisker sensors, which mimic the tactile hairs of mammals, offer both high sensitivity and multifunctionality. They excel in capturing fine-grained environmental data, detecting various stimuli with precision, and finding applications in diverse domains. This review explores the integration of whisker sensors in potential marine applications. Categorized into six types, these sensors are invaluable for tasks such as marine structure monitoring, measurement instruments, tactile perception in marine robots, and non-contact sensing in the marine environment. Challenges and potential solutions are examined, along with the prospects of whisker sensors in the field of marine science and engineering. In an era that demands adaptable sensing solutions, whisker sensors emerge as pivotal components, enabling machines and devices to perceive and respond to external stimuli with heightened sensitivity and versatility. Their application in the marine domain holds substantial promise, propelling advancements in the realms of marine science and engineering.

Ocean current energy, owing to its predictability and stability, is regarded as an ideal power source for distributed marine observation networks and underwater intelligent equipment. However, conventional ocean current energy devices that rely on rigid turbines and electromagnetic generators generally suffer from high cut-in flow velocity, bulky size, high maintenance costs, and significant environmental disturbance, making them unsuitable for deep-sea, miniaturized, and long-duration power supply scenarios. These limitations highlight the urgent need for flexible and low-speed energy harvesters capable of autonomous, long-term operation. In recent years, nanogenerator technology has provided new opportunities for distributed and low-power ocean current energy harvesting. PENGs and TENGs can directly convert weak mechanical energy into electricity, enabling energy harvesting in small-scale and low-velocity flow fields. PENGs offer high durability and mechanical robustness, whereas TENGs exhibit superior output performance in low-speed and intermittent flows. This paper provides a comprehensive review of structural designs, material innovations, interface engineering, hybrid energy-conversion architectures, and power-management strategies for PENG- and TENG-based ocean current energy harvesters. Overall, future progress will rely on the integration of intelligent materials, multi-field coupling mechanisms, and system-level engineering strategies to achieve durable, scalable, and autonomous ocean current energy harvesting for distributed marine systems.