A hydraulically controlled, programmable tank cleaning nozzle system, comprising: a tank cleaning nozzle having one or more degrees of freedom that operates as an independent, standalone unit with a multiple axes motion controller; and a mount for mounting the tank cleaning nozzle to a structure selected from one of any existing: a pipe, a boom, a robotic arm, a gantry system, a rigid beam, a manway, and another rigid structure, wherein said system further comprises software that analyzes point cloud data to recognize standard geometry and then populate missing data to yield a complete feature profile and a 3D sensor that scans the area such that the software renders point cloud data into 3D CAD models; and wherein the system further comprises a control station with a human machine interface allowing control of the system from up to approximately 300 m (approximately 1000 feet) away from the system; a hydraulic power unit and manifold with flow modulating electro-hydraulic valves to control hydraulically actuated motors (31, 41) for operating the system in hazardous and explosive environments; an encoder (encoder-1, encoder-2, 50) coupled to each hydraulic motor and transmitting data over fiber optic cables for operation in hazardous environments, wherein the hydraulic power unit provides a constant supply of hydraulic oil to the valves on the manifold that in turn modulates the flow to corresponding hydraulic motors based on encoder feedback and toolpaths developed by software at the control station, wherein the encoder feedback comprises absolute or incremental positional data sent to the motion controller through a serial interface for closed loop control of the hydraulic motors. a tank cleaning nozzle having one or more degrees of freedom that operates as an independent, standalone unit with a multiple axes motion controller; and a mount for mounting the tank cleaning nozzle to a structure selected from one of any existing: a pipe, a boom, a robotic arm, a gantry system, a rigid beam, a manway, and another rigid structure, wherein said system further comprises software that analyzes point cloud data to recognize standard geometry and then populate missing data to yield a complete feature profile and a 3D sensor that scans the area such that the software renders point cloud data into 3D CAD models; and wherein the system further comprises a control station with a human machine interface allowing control of the system from up to approximately 300 m (approximately 1000 feet) away from the system; a hydraulic power unit and manifold with flow modulating electro-hydraulic valves to control hydraulically actuated motors (31, 41) for operating the system in hazardous and explosive environments; an encoder (encoder-1, encoder-2, 50) coupled to each hydraulic motor and transmitting data over fiber optic cables for operation in hazardous environments, wherein the hydraulic power unit provides a constant supply of hydraulic oil to the valves on the manifold that in turn modulates the flow to corresponding hydraulic motors based on encoder feedback and toolpaths developed by software at the control station, wherein the encoder feedback comprises absolute or incremental positional data sent to the motion controller through a serial interface for closed loop control of the hydraulic motors.