KlaskTron: An Open-Source Platform for Physical Adversarial Multi-Agent RL

Abstract

Progress in robot learning, particularly physical multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL), is currently challenged by a limited availability of accessible, standardized benchmarks. While simulation-based MARL has produced remarkable emergent behaviors, from coordinated team play to complex tool use, translating these advances to physical systems remains difficult. A key barrier is infrastructural: physical platforms are often prohibitively expensive, require specialized facilities, or lack open mechanisms and designs for reproducibility. We introduce KlaskTron, an open-source, low-cost (<\$2500 USD), desktop-scale robotic testbed for adversarial MARL based on the dynamic tabletop game KLASK. The platform features dual CoreXY gantries with high-torque brushless motors, enabling the high-speed, precise manipulation required for competitive play. Crucially, we provide a complete ecosystem: hardware designs (CAD, BOM), a GPU-native digital twin in NVIDIA Isaac Lab for high-fidelity modeling and simulation, and a validated sim-to-real baseline using a learned neural actuator model. We demonstrate that this baseline enables zero-shot policy transfer, with trained agents exhibiting emergent adversarial behaviors. To ensure full reproducibility of our results, all project assets are released publicly: hardware CAD/BOM and assembly documentation at [https://idscethzurich.github.io/klask_hardware], inference software stack at [https://github.com/IDSCETHZurich/klask_software] and the simulation and MARL setup at [https://github.com/IDSCETHZurich/klask_rl].