Guidance of unmanned aerial inspection vehicles in work environments using optical tags

A system comprising:

• a confined space entry device comprising an imaging device;
• a processor communicatively coupled to the imaging device, wherein the processor is configured to:
• receive, from the imaging device, an image of a confined space;
• detect a location marking label within the image;
• process the image to decode data embedded within the location marking label;
• and
• control navigation of the confined space entry device within the confined space based on the data decoded from the location marking label.

A method comprising:

• deploying, into a confined space, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the UAV including an imaging device;
• receiving, by a processor communicatively coupled to the imaging device, an image of the confined space captured by the imaging device;
• detecting a location marking label within the image;
• processing, by the processor, the image to decode data embedded on the location marking label;
• and
• controlling, by the processor, navigation of the UAV within the confined space based on the data decoded from the location marking label.