New Delhi: The government has directed Greater Noida-based Galgotias University to immediately vacate its booth at the ongoing India AI Expo, colocated with the AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. This action follows widespread online backlash after the university was accused of presenting a Chinese-sourced robot dog, labeled “Orion,” as its own indigenous development.
“Galgotias University has been asked to vacate the AI Summit Expo immediately,” a source said.
On Tuesday, Day-2 of the India AI Expo, Galgotias University faced widespread criticism after a faculty member presented a commercially available Chinese-made robot as an institution-developed innovation at the expo, prompting the university to issue a clarification denying it had ever claimed to have built the device.
The university showcased the robot dog, calling it ‘Orion,’ describing it as a product of the university’s Centre of Excellence. Government social media handles, including that of the Ministry of Electronics and IT, shared video footage of the robot.
However, social media quickly exposed it as Unitree Robotics’ Go2 model — available for $1,600 — with the manufacturer’s branding intact. The university had separately claimed to have invested over Rs 350 crore in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The resultant backlash was fast and swift. Users on social media accused the university of rebranding an off-the-shelf product and misrepresenting it to national media and government officials at a high-profile event. Chinese social media accounts also picked up the story, further amplifying the embarrassment.
Galgotias issued a statement retracting from the earlier presentation. “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,” Galgotias University said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
“From the United States to China, from Singapore to every global hub of innovation, we have consistently brought cutting-edge technologies to our campus. Why? Because exposure creates vision. And vision creates creators,” it added.
The university further clarified that the robodog was recently acquired from Unitree, calling it “not merely a machine on display — it is a classroom in motion.”
