Systems and methods for universal device management of one or more imaging devices using a common controller are described. The systems and methods are directed at storing information for each imaging device in a memory of a processor. The processor receives unformatted instructions (or user input) from the controller and processes the unformatted instructions into instructions that can be recognized by the particular imaging device. In this way, a single controller can be used to communicate with a plurality of different imaging devices that each may have their own distinct payload format.