AI-driven LED characters field 400 live conversations at US trade show
2026-10-27 · via AV Magazine
NewMedia Creative Technology Studio ran an interactive LED installation at IMEX America 2026 that let trade show visitors hold real-time spoken conversations with AI-driven animated characters, according to the company. Over four days, 329 visitors took part in 402 conversations across 26 languages, NewMedia says, with more than 12 hours of live dialogue recorded.
For anyone running interactive signage or experiential displays, the project is a useful data point on how far real-time conversational AI has moved from demo reel to working trade show install, with hard numbers on throughput and latency attached.
The hardware stack
The installation, called AI HOST, used a 1.83m-wide by 3.66m-tall LED wall built from AOTO RM1.5E panels, driven by Brompton processing. NewMedia states the panels run at 1,500 nits brightness with a 7,680Hz refresh rate, specs aimed at keeping the wall flicker-free on camera as well as in person. Audio came from a JBL stereo system, with visitors speaking into an Audio-Technica PRO49QL gooseneck microphone rather than a handheld unit, presumably to keep hands free and reduce handling noise.
Visitor interaction started on a 12.9-inch iPad running a touchscreen interface built in-house by NewMedia, where attendees picked one of four characters and entered their name before speaking.
What made the response fast
On the processing side, a show computer ran Unreal Engine 5 for facial animation and lip-sync at a specified 60fps, paired with AI infrastructure NewMedia operates remotely from a data centre in Spain. According to founder and chief executive Diego De Anna, the pipeline chains speech-to-text, language understanding, response generation, response splitting, voice synthesis, animation and lip-sync together so the character starts speaking before the full answer has finished generating. NewMedia reports a median gap of 2.6 seconds between a visitor finishing a sentence and the character starting its reply.
Executive creative director Carolina Comas García says the team layered a wide animation library with gate logic and artistic direction so characters could adapt to unscripted exchanges, which is the harder problem in live AI installs compared with scripted digital signage content.
The announcement does not disclose cost, the specific AI models used, or how the system handled off-topic or inappropriate questions, all of which matter for anyone evaluating similar installs for retail or event use. NewMedia says AI HOST builds on its earlier Metahuman Choir project at IMEX Frankfurt 2026, suggesting the company is positioning AI-driven LED characters as a recurring product line for the events and trade show circuit rather than a one-off stunt.
The announcement in full
Reproduced from AV Magazine for reference. Digital Signage Magazine did not write the text below.
By AV Magazine in AI , Live Events , US&Canada October 27, 2026 0
NewMedia Creative Technology Studio’s AI HOST used AI-driven speech processing and real-time facial animation to answer questions in up to 26 languages at a US events industry trade show.
An interactive installation enabled visitors to North America’s largest trade show for the meetings, events and incentive travel industry to have real-time conversations with four AI-driven LED characters.
NewMedia Creative Technology Studio’s AI HOST combined AI-driven speech processing, directional voice capture and remotely hosted AI processing at IMEX America 2026.
The installation featured a 1.83m-wide by 3.66m-tall LED wall, built with AOTO RM1.5E panels and driven by Brompton processing. The panels had a brightness of 1,500 nits and a 7,680Hz refresh rate.
Visitors selected one of four characters on a 12.9″ iPad running a touchscreen interface developed in-house. They then entered their name and started speaking through an Audio-Technica PRO49QL gooseneck microphone. A JBL stereo system reproduced the character’s voice and a visual performance on the LED wall.
The show computer ran Unreal Engine 5 for real-time facial animation and lip-sync, with a specified frame rate of 60fps. This was paired with NewMedia’s own AI infrastructure in a data centre in Spain, accessible to the team remotely.
Across four days, 329 visitors took part in 402 conversations, with interactions taking place in 26 languages. More than 12 hours of live conversation took place, with a median of 2.6 seconds between a visitor’s last word and the start of the character’s reply.
Diego De Anna, NewMedia’s founder and chief executive, describes a software workflow linking speech-to-text, understanding, response generation, splitting, voice generation, animation and lip-sync. The processes are coordinated so that the character can begin delivering an answer as it is generated.
“The system does not wait for the complete answer before it begins speaking, which is why the response feels so immediate,” he says.
The production also required decisions about how a character should perform during an unpredictable exchange.
Executive creative director Carolina Comas García says the team combined a wide range of animations with gate logic and artistic direction to make the character adaptable to the live situation.
AI HOST builds on NewMedia’s recent AI work for live events, including the Metahuman Choir at IMEX Frankfurt 2026 .