Galgotias University asked to vacate India AI Impact Summit over Chinese robot dog claim

Galgotias University was asked to vacate the expo area of the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi after a controversy erupted over a robotic dog showcased at its stall. The action followed a viral video in which university representatives were seen presenting the robot as a product developed by the institution’s Centre of Excellence.

The robot was later identified as the Unitree Go2, a commercially available robotic dog manufactured in China and sold in India for around Rs 2–3 lakh. At the summit, the robot was displayed under the name “Orion”, with multiple clips showing university staff claiming it had been developed in-house. As the videos spread on social media, users accused the institution of misrepresenting imported technology as an Indian innovation. The backlash intensified after both a university representative and a professor were seen on camera asserting that the robotic dog had been built at Galgotias’ Centre of Excellence.

In response, Galgotias University issued a statement stating that the robodog had been procured from Unitree and was being used solely as a learning tool for students. The university denied claiming the robot as its own creation and later described the criticism as part of a “propaganda campaign”. However, the post received a Community Note stating that the denial was misleading, pointing out that the robot had been renamed and publicly presented as an in-house development during the event.