Galgotias University Asked To Exit AI Summit After Robot Dog Row
Galgotias University has reportedly been directed to vacate its exhibition space at the ongoing India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi following controversy over a robotic dog displayed at the event. The Greater Noida-based institution came under scrutiny after a video surfaced online showing its representatives describing a Chinese-made robotic dog as a product developed by the university’s Centre of Excellence.
The robot at the center of the controversy is the Unitree Robotics-manufactured Unitree Go2, a commercially available quadruped robot that retails in India for approximately ₹2–3 lakh. At the summit, the robot was showcased under the name “Orion.”
Videos that quickly went viral on social media showed a woman identified as a university representative explaining the robot’s capabilities during a media interaction. In the clip, she stated that “Orion” had been developed by the university’s Centre of Excellence. In another interview, a professor from the institution made a similar assertion, telling reporters that the robotic dog had been built by their team.
However, social media users were quick to identify the machine as the imported Unitree Go2, leading to allegations that the university had presented foreign technology as its own innovation. The issue escalated rapidly online, prompting questions about the authenticity of the claims made at the summit.
In response, Galgotias University released a statement on X (formerly Twitter), clarifying its position. The university acknowledged procuring the robotic dog from Unitree and described it as a learning resource for students rather than an original creation.
“The recently acquired robodog from Unitree is one such step in that journey,” the statement read. “It is not merely a machine on display; it is a classroom in motion. Our students are experimenting with it, testing its limits and, in the process, expanding their own knowledge. Let us be clear: Galgotias has not built this robodog, nor have we ever claimed to. Let us be clear - Galgotias has not built this robodog, neither have we claimed. But what we are building are minds that will soon design, engineer, and manufacture such technologies right here in Bharat.”
https://x.com/GalgotiasGU/
Despite this clarification, the university’s post drew a Community Note on X, which stated that the claim of never having presented the robodog as its own was misleading. The note highlighted that the robot had been renamed “Orion” and that representatives on camera had explicitly claimed it was developed by the university.
A faculty member, Neha, who earlier described the robot dogs as a Galgotias innovation, later offered her explanation. “By one misinterpretation, the internet has gone by storm. It might be that I could not convey well what I had wanted to say, or you could not understand well what I wanted to say. I am a faculty member in communications at the School of Management, not in AI. Only you (the media) have heard what the government has said, as far as I know we are here at the expo. As a university, we are standing tall. The robot was brought here only for projection,” she said.
Meanwhile, Professor Aishwarya Shrivastava stated, “As of now, we have no such information,” when asked about reports that the university had been instructed to vacate the expo area.
The incident has added an unexpected controversy to the high-profile AI gathering, which was meant to showcase India’s growing technological capabilities.