The purpose of the Robot Ranger is to protect individuals from the dangers of land mines. Each year, many individuals are killed when land mines detonate. The Robot Ranger is a system to detect and mark the mines in an area from a distance. As a wirelessly controlled device, the Robot Ranger keeps the operator away from the danger of land mines, while marking their location so that they can be later disarmed.

The Robot Ranger can drive forward, backward, and turn accurately. Two metal detectors at the front of the robot (in front of the treads) detect mines before the robot could run over them and possibly detonate them. Another metal detector at the rear of the robot acts as the main marking area. The marking system, located above the rear metal detector, is activated by the user when a mine is detected. The marking system colors the mine with bright paint to warn people that a mine is nearby and allow for clear identification for later disarming.

The user operates the Robot Ranger with a remote control that communicates wirelessly with the robot through the 802.15.4 protocol. The remote control has three LEDs, one for each metal detector, that illuminate when metal is detected. To mark a mine that has been detected, the user depresses a button on the remote.