Galgotias University in Greater Noida has been asked by authorities to vacate the expo area at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi after a controversy erupted over a robotic dog displayed at the event. Government sources told the media the action was taken after the university allegedly presented a Chinese-made robot as its own innovation, causing what officials described as a national embarrassment.
The controversy began after a video from the summit went viral on social media. In the clip, Professor Neha Singh is seen introducing the robotic dog, named Orion, and saying, “You need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University.” She also spoke about its surveillance and monitoring capabilities and said it moves freely across the campus.
Soon after the video spread online, several viewers alleged that the robot was actually the Go2 model developed by Unitree Robotics. The Unitree Go2 is a commercially available four-legged robot that can be purchased online in India for around Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. The Chinese firm is known for producing robotic dogs at lower prices compared to competitors such as Boston Dynamics, which makes the Spot robot.
Following the backlash, Galgotias University issued a clarification on social media, stating that it never claimed to have built the robot. “Let us be clear. Galgotias has not built this robotic dog, nor have we claimed to do so. Our focus is on building young minds that will soon design, engineer and manufacture such technologies in India,” the university said.
In another statement, the university described the criticism as a “propaganda campaign” and said its faculty and students were deeply pained. It added that acquiring global technologies is part of its effort to train students in artificial intelligence and robotics. “The recently acquired robodog from Unitree is one such step in that journey. It is not merely a machine on display. It is a classroom in motion,” the statement read.
Responding to reports that the university had been asked to leave the summit, Professor Neha Singh said she had no information about any such directive. “The controversy happened because things may not have been expressed clearly. I take accountability that perhaps I did not communicate it properly. We cannot claim that we manufactured it. We introduced it to inspire students,” she said. She added, “As far as I know, we are here at the expo. I do not have any information about being asked to vacate.”
Another faculty member, Professor Aishwarya Shrivastava, also said the university had not received any official communication asking it to vacate the summit.
