Embodiments of the invention provide a pool cleaner control system to locate and remove debris from an aquatic environment. The control system comprises an imaging device configured to be mounted on a housing of a pool cleaner and a controller in communication with the imaging device and configured to control the imaging device to acquire one or more primary images from the imaging device. The primary image is received by the controller from the imaging device. Debris is identified within the aquatic environment and a path score is calculated for at least two potential paths having debris within the aquatic environment. The pool cleaner is navigated along a selected path, the selected path being the one of the at least two potential paths having a highest path score.