Bits & Pretzels 2026 – Can AI-assisted Spray Analysis Become a Scalable Business?

At Bits & Pretzels, taking place from 28–30 September 2026 in Munich, Germany, we will present our latest developments in AI-assisted spray analysis:

• SprayConeAI®
• SprayQuantAI®
• ParticleTensorAI®

All three technologies address the analysis of sprays, droplets, and optical measurement data. At Bits & Pretzels, however, we also want to discuss a broader question that goes beyond measurement technology: Can professional spray analysis become a scalable web-based business?

Spray analysis is used every day across many industrial fields. Companies working with paint spraying, automotive refinishing, coating technology, spray guns, nozzles, atomizers, and industrial spraying processes need to evaluate spray behavior accurately and consistently. Depending on the application, engineers may want to know:

• What is the shape of the spray pattern?
• How symmetrical is the spray?
• How wide is the spray pattern?
• How are droplets distributed?
• What are the droplet size and velocity?
• Does the spray change when process parameters are modified?
• Can changes in the spray be detected automatically?

Traditionally, answering these questions often requires specialized measurement equipment, laboratory installations, or company-specific software. At ai-quanton, we are developing complementary technologies for different levels of spray and particle analysis.

SprayQuantAI® analyzes optical light-scattering signals from individual droplets. The technology is designed to determine parameters such as droplet size, velocity, droplet rate, and other spray characteristics. One goal of SprayQuantAI is to reduce the complexity of conventional optical measurement systems while preserving the information required for industrial spray diagnostics. This makes the technology relevant not only for laboratory measurements but also for real-time spray monitoring and integration into industrial processes.

ParticleTensorAI® takes a different approach. Instead of considering only individually detected droplets, ParticleTensorAI can analyze complete sequences of optical detector signals as multidimensional tensors. Artificial intelligence can then identify information related to the spray, particles, material properties, or process conditions. This approach is particularly valuable when large amounts of light-scattering data are available and conventional signal processing would discard some of the information. ParticleTensorAI represents our move toward increasingly data-driven spray and particle diagnostics.

For Bits & Pretzels, SprayConeAI® is particularly interesting from a business perspective. SprayConeAI moves spray analysis beyond specialized measurement hardware and into a web-based environment.

The principle is simple:

Take an image of a spray pattern and analyze it in a web browser.

SprayConeAI can be accessed using a smartphone, tablet, iPad, notebook, or desktop computer. Users upload an image of a spray pattern, and the software analyzes its geometry and distribution.

Depending on the analysis mode, the results can include:

• spray area,
• width and height,
• spray-pattern outline,
• geometric center,
• symmetry,
• coverage distribution,
• comparisons between different spray patterns,
• and visual overlays.

When a calibration reference is included in the image, dimensions can also be converted from pixels into physical units. The goal is not to replace high-resolution droplet measurement systems such as SprayQuantAI or ParticleTensorAI. Instead, SprayConeAI addresses a different and much broader level of spray analysis.

This is one of the questions we want to discuss at Bits & Pretzels. Many companies already analyze spray patterns as part of their daily work. Potential applications include:

Automotive refinishing: Painters and paint manufacturers regularly evaluate spray-gun settings and spray patterns.
Spray-gun development: Manufacturers can compare different nozzle, air, pressure, and material configurations.
Spray-nozzle development: Nozzle manufacturers need repeatable methods for documenting and comparing spray geometries.
Coating technology: Spray-pattern information can support process development, quality control, and technical documentation.
Research and development: Laboratories can use standardized image analysis to compare experiments and operating conditions.

In many cases, the spray-pattern image already exists. The question is therefore not necessarily how to create new measurement data. The question is: How can we extract more useful and standardized information from images that companies already generate?

Many larger companies already have internal tools for evaluating spray images. However, these tools are often developed for one specific application, company, or laboratory. With SprayConeAI, we are investigating another approach:

Can we create a common web-based platform for spray-pattern analysis that can be used across companies, applications, and countries?

Instead of installing dedicated software or purchasing measurement hardware, users could access the analysis directly through a browser. This could significantly change the business model. A specialized measurement instrument is normally used by a limited number of customers. A web platform can potentially serve many users worldwide. That is why SprayConeAI is especially relevant to our participation at Bits & Pretzels.

The technical concept is only one part of the development. The next challenge is finding the right scalable business model. Possible models could include free basic analysis combined with professional functions for industrial users, subscription-based access, company accounts, automated reporting, API access, data management, or customized analysis models. Rather than defining the complete model from our own perspective, we want to discuss these possibilities with companies and technology partners.

Which features create enough value for industrial users?

Which industries have the strongest need for standardized spray analysis?

Should SprayConeAI become a software tool, a SaaS platform, an industrial API, or a combination of these models?

And how can such a highly specialized technical application grow internationally?

These are exactly the questions we want to explore in Munich.

Bits & Pretzels brings together founders, established companies, technology providers, and business partners from across Europe. For us, the event is not only an opportunity to present our technology. We are especially interested in discussions with strategic partners who can help us further develop SprayConeAI and our other technologies.

Potential partners include:

• companies working with sprays and coating processes,
• manufacturers of spray guns and spray nozzles,
• automotive and automotive-refinishing companies,
• software and AI partners,
• industrial automation companies,
• distribution partners,
• companies interested in integrating spray analysis into their own digital platforms,
• and technology providers looking for new digital services for their customers.

Our background is in optical spray measurement and particle diagnostics. With SprayConeAI, we are exploring how this technical knowledge can be transformed into a simple, accessible, and scalable digital product together with strong industrial partners.

Our technologies cover three complementary levels of spray analysis:

SprayConeAI®
Analyzes macroscopic spray patterns from images.

SprayQuantAI®
Analyzes individual droplets using optical light-scattering signals.

ParticleTensorAI®
Analyzes complex sequences of detector signals using AI-based tensor methods.

Together, these technologies represent our vision of combining spray physics, optical measurement technology, artificial intelligence, and digital platforms.

At Bits & Pretzels 2026, however, one question will be especially important to us:

Can SprayConeAI transform spray analysis from a specialized engineering task into a scalable web-based service?

🌐 SprayConeAI: https://sprayconeai.com

🥨 Bits & Pretzels: https://www.bitsandpretzels.com