New Delhi: Galgotias University has been asked to vacate its stall at the IndiaAI Impact Summit following a controversy over a robotic dog displayed at the event, government sources said.
The action comes amid an online backlash alleging that the Greater Noida-based institution presented a Chinese-made robotic dog as its own innovation. The controversy erupted after a viral video showed a representative claiming that the university’s Centre of Excellence had developed a robodog named “Orion” at the summit held at Bharat Mandapam.
Social media users identified the device as the Unitree Go2, an AI-powered robotic dog manufactured by China-based Unitree Robotics and available commercially for approximately Rs 2–3 lakh. Critics accused the university of passing off an imported product as an indigenous development.
In a statement posted on X, Galgotias University denied having built the robodog or claiming ownership of its development. It clarified that the device had been procured from Unitree as a teaching aid to provide hands-on learning exposure to students.
However, the clarification was later challenged through a community note on X, which alleged that the robot had been renamed “Orion” and presented as being developed by the university’s team.
The university maintained that sourcing global technologies for academic purposes aligns with its broader learning objectives.
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