If you don’t already know, nerf blasters are a kid favorite: toy guns that fire foam darts, discs or foam balls. While this is used as a blanket term to describe any foam gun, the original line is made by Hasbro, Inc.
Nerf has 17 lines available on the market today. Most of the lines have several models available that have been changing over the years.
All the Nerf Lines:
- N-Strike Elite
- Alien Menace
- Dart Tag
- Vortex
- Zombie Strike
- Modulus
- Mega
- N-Strike
- RIVAL
- Doomlands
- Super Soaker
- Accustrike
- Rebelle
- Modulus Ghost Ops
- Laser Ops Pro
- Micro Shots
- Mega Accustrike
However, there are cross-promotional models that have been released during the years, themed around Star Wars, Marvel, Transformers, Fortnite, G.I Joe, and others.
The Best Nerf Guns to Buy
Nerf N-Strike SurgeFire
This blaster packs 15 darts in one punch with a firing range of 90 feet. While it’s not the most powerful Nerf gun, it can fire one round at a time when accuracy is required, or spray all the 15 darts at multiple targets.
Nerf N-Strike Mega BigShock Blaster
Easy to hold in one hand, this blaster fires Mega Whistler Darts that whistle as they fly. The benefits of this gun are its low price and the big darts it fires, which are harder to lose.
Nerf N-Strike Mega Mastodon Blaster
One of the biggest and most powerful weapons in the Nerf armory, this mega-blaster is powered by batteries and can rapidly fire up to 24 darts at a time, which can travel up to 75 feet. It might be too heavy for some children, but it comes with a shoulder strap.
Nerf Modulus Regulator
A classic gun offering a range of firing options, from single shots and fire bursts to continuous fire, spraying darts from one of two 12-dart clips. The blaster is motorized and requires batteries, which means faster shorts. The most significant benefit that this Nerf gun comes with is the number of attachments, meaning your child can customize the gun of its liking.
Nerf Laser Ops Pro AlphaPoint
Unlike older Nerf blasters, the Laser Ops fire laser beams at the impressive 225 feet. The pack comes with two guns, so a 1:1 battle can start right after unpacking.
A New Study Shows That Humans and Robots Can Interact Smoothly
The Tampere University in Finland has recently concluded a new study investigating if making eye contact with robots has the same effect on people as it does when it occurs with another person. The results show that a robot could interact with a human more smoothly if it had humanoid features. The study takes into account the rapid progress in robotics and attempts to shed more light on the possible future interactions humans would have with their creations.
Social Robots Could Become Commonplace In the Future
Scientists anticipate that people will start to interact more and more with so-called social robots. Despite their artificiality, people react to them socially and are quick to perceive them as knowledgeable and give them human attributes such as sociability and likability. That is if the robots look more humane. So, with that in mind, the researchers looked at the automatic reactions humans have to social robots and if they are anything like those they show when interacting with another person.
Comparing human emotional and attention-related physiological responses based on eye contact with a social robot and a person, scientists made some surprising conclusions. Research participants were facing another person or a humanoid robot who looked either directly at the participant to make eye contact or had their gaze averted. At the same time, the physiological activity of the bodies of each participant was measured.
Humans Perceive Eye Contact With Robots the Same as With Other Humans
First, the study showed that physiological reactions in the case of eye contact were stronger compared to those in the case of an averted gaze. This result was the same when interacting with both a humanoid robot and another person. Second, it turned out that eye contact with robots or other humans would, in both cases, raise the arousal level of the participants, focus their attention, and elicit a positive emotional response.
These results indicate that social robots can affect humans, much like other people. Such evidence allows scientists to anticipate that as robot technology develops, future interactions humans would have with robots could be surprisingly seamless.