The real-time media server platform PIXERA, by AV Stumpfl, is the core of the recent technological upgrade of the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, designed and integrated by Electrosonic, an award-winning audiovisual and technology services company.
Supporting the museum’s goal of engaging visitors with different learning styles, PIXERA distributes and synchronizes media content across the venue’s upgraded spaces, including theaters, multiple galleries and, notably, Encounters, a new deeply personal experience presenting visitors with 16 first-person stories from the war.
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At the heart of the project, Encounters features four alcove-style spaces where visitors stand on illuminated markers that discreetly trigger life-size characters, based on real First World War figures, as they “enter” the scene. Each story unfolds through a precisely choreographed interplay of image and sound, using 1.25mm Nanolumens LED displays to present the characters; HOLOPLOT spatial audio, which envelops each visitor without spilling into adjacent alcoves; and concealed Christie Inspire Series projectors, which cast a forward “portal” shadow, transforming the 2D image into a striking 3D illusion on the floor.
The backbone of the installation consists of three PIXERA media servers (2 × PIXERA two and 1 × PIXERA zero Dual), which sequence sensor events and content so that as one character exits, another appears, maintaining the rhythm and intimacy of each encounter.
This responsive choreography—from the moment a shadow appears above the visitor to the subtle movements across the floor and the character’s arrival in frame—is orchestrated by the PIXERA engine, ensuring reliable and repeatable synchronization across all four portals while preserving the exhibit’s sense of spontaneity and humanity.
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Beyond Encounters, PIXERA powers content playback and synchronization throughout the museum and memorial. At the Kemper Horizons Theater, projection and a dramatic diorama convey the harsh conditions of trench warfare, while the Battlescapes experience surrounds visitors with multiple edge-blended projections, placing them inside a “crater” amid chaotic artillery bombardment. Four PIXERA two servers and one PIXERA Control Core are used for these non-Encounters experiences.
Leveraging its integration with the ISAAC AV workflow platform, PIXERA connects these multi-space experiences and streamlines operations for the museum’s AV team.
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PIXERA processors are used to blend the Christie projectors, a seamless integration we have implemented in several locations. With so much happening inside the museum, they need the ability to manage that complexity, and they are more than capable of doing so, explains Chris Johnson, Vice President of Sales at Electrosonic.
Regarding the involvement of the AV Stumpfl USA team in the project, Johnson adds: “When we began designing this project, PIXERA was our choice as media server partner. They joined us at the National WWI Museum throughout the design process and helped us determine which products we needed to achieve our goals”.
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The renovation, carried out while the museum remained open to the public, represents the latest phase of a long-standing collaboration between the National WWI Museum and Memorial and Electrosonic, reflecting the museum’s desire to integrate technology discreetly so that human stories take center stage.
Other collaborators on the project included Dot Crew (media design and production), Technical Artistry (lighting), and JE Dunn (fabrication).
Photo credit: Electrosonic
