Electrosonic, the international AV and technology services company, has completed a major technology refresh of the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, orchestrating a complex multi-space installation designed to connect visitors with the human stories of the First World War.
Central to the project is AV Stumpfl’s PIXERA real-time media server platform, which distributes and synchronises media across the museum’s upgraded theatres, galleries and a striking new experience called Encounters – four alcoves in which visitors step into illuminated floor markers to trigger life-size, sensor-activated characters based on real wartime personalities.
Electrosonic says that each Encounter unfolds through a tightly choreographed interplay of technology. Nanolumens 1.25mm LED displays render the on-screen characters in high resolution, while HOLOPLOT spatial audio is deployed to envelop each visitor in sound without bleeding into neighbouring alcoves. Concealed Christie Inspire Series projectors cast a forward “portal” shadow onto the floor, converting the 2D image into what is intended to appear as a striking 3D illusion. Three PIXERA media servers – two PIXERA two units and one PIXERA zero Dual – sequence sensor events and media playback so that as one character exits, another arrives, preserving the rhythm and intimacy of each encounter, according to Electrosonic.
Beyond Encounters, PIXERA underpins content playback across the wider museum, the integrator explains. In the Kemper Horizons Theater, projection and a dramatic diorama are used to convey the conditions of trench warfare, while the Battlescapes experience surrounds visitors with multiple edge-blended projections placing them within a simulated artillery bombardment. Four further PIXERA two servers and one PIXERA Control Core handle these experiences. Integration with the ISAAC AV workflow platform is designed to tie the multi-space system together and streamline day-to-day operations for the museum’s AV team.
The refresh – delivered while the museum remained open to the public – forms the latest phase in a long-standing partnership between Electrosonic and the National WWI Museum and Memorial. Other collaborators included Dot Crew for media design and production, Technical Artistry for lighting, and JE Dunn for fabrication.
Chris Johnson, vice president of sales at Electrosonic, said: “PIXERA processors are used to blend the Christie projectors – a seamless integration we’ve used in several locations. With so much happening within the museum, they have to have the ability to handle all that complexity, and they’re more than capable of doing so.”
He added: “When we started thinking about designing this project, PIXERA came right into mind as our media server partner. They visited the National WWI Museum with us throughout the design process and helped us determine which products we needed to achieve our goals.”
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