Indian University Expelled From National AI Summit After Passing Off Chinese Robot Dog as Its Own

The video had all the hallmarks of a triumphal showcase. A communications professor from Galgotias University, a private institution in Greater Noida, stood beside a sleek quadruped robot at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi this week, introducing it to a state television crew as "Orion." As she told the Doordarshan cameras: "You need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University" Indian university faces backlash for presenting Chinese robot as its ownaljazeera.com·SecondaryAn Indian university is facing backlash after one of its professors was caught falsely presenting a Chinese-made robot dog at a major artificial intelligence summit, it has reportedly since been asked to leave, as the institution’s own. “You ⁠need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University,” Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told Indian state-run broadcaster DD ⁠News this week..

Within hours, the clip had gone viral — not for the reasons the university intended. Social media users quickly identified the robot as the Unitree Go2, a commercially available model from the Chinese robotics company Unitree that is sold online in India for between 200,000 and 300,000 rupees Indian university faces backlash for presenting Chinese robot as its ownaljazeera.com·SecondaryAn Indian university is facing backlash after one of its professors was caught falsely presenting a Chinese-made robot dog at a major artificial intelligence summit, it has reportedly since been asked to leave, as the institution’s own. “You ⁠need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University,” Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told Indian state-run broadcaster DD ⁠News this week.. The revelation set off a firestorm on Indian social media, with critics accusing Galgotias of academic fraud and misrepresentation at what was supposed to be a flagship event for India's AI ambitions.

By Wednesday morning, the summit's organisers had seen enough. Government sources confirmed that Galgotias University had been asked to vacate its exhibition space immediately Indian University Told to Exit AI Summit Over Robot Claimbloomberg.com·Secondary. IT Secretary S. Krishnan told reporters at a press conference that organisers would not tolerate conduct that could overshadow the work of legitimate exhibitors, adding that standards needed to be maintained to prevent the promotion of inauthentic behaviour Indian University Told to Exit AI Summit Over Robot Claimbloomberg.com·Secondary.

The embarrassment had initially been amplified by none other than Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who shared the original video clip on his official social media account before the backlash erupted. The post was later deleted Indian university faces backlash for presenting Chinese robot as its ownaljazeera.com·SecondaryAn Indian university is facing backlash after one of its professors was caught falsely presenting a Chinese-made robot dog at a major artificial intelligence summit, it has reportedly since been asked to leave, as the institution’s own. “You ⁠need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University,” Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told Indian state-run broadcaster DD ⁠News this week.. Doordarshan, the state broadcaster that aired the segment, also removed the clips from its online platforms.

Galgotias University issued a statement denying it had ever claimed to have built the robot. "Let us be clear — Galgotias has not built this robodog, neither have we claimed," the university posted on X. "But what we are building are minds that will soon design, engineer, and manufacture such technologies right here in Bharat" Indian university faces backlash for presenting Chinese robot as its ownaljazeera.com·SecondaryAn Indian university is facing backlash after one of its professors was caught falsely presenting a Chinese-made robot dog at a major artificial intelligence summit, it has reportedly since been asked to leave, as the institution’s own. “You ⁠need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University,” Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told Indian state-run broadcaster DD ⁠News this week.. The university described the Unitree Go2 as part of its efforts to bring cutting-edge technologies into the classroom, saying students were working with the device to expand their own knowledge Indian university faces backlash for presenting Chinese robot as its ownaljazeera.com·SecondaryAn Indian university is facing backlash after one of its professors was caught falsely presenting a Chinese-made robot dog at a major artificial intelligence summit, it has reportedly since been asked to leave, as the institution’s own. “You ⁠need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University,” Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told Indian state-run broadcaster DD ⁠News this week..

That defence drew scepticism, given that the original Doordarshan clip showed the professor explicitly describing the robot as a university-developed product. A representative at the university's booth was quoted by Reuters as saying Galgotias had not yet received formal communication about being expelled from the expo — even as government sources confirmed the eviction order had been issued Indian university faces backlash for presenting Chinese robot as its ownaljazeera.com·SecondaryAn Indian university is facing backlash after one of its professors was caught falsely presenting a Chinese-made robot dog at a major artificial intelligence summit, it has reportedly since been asked to leave, as the institution’s own. “You ⁠need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University,” Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told Indian state-run broadcaster DD ⁠News this week..

The Unitree Go2 at the centre of the controversy is a well-known product in the robotics world. Manufactured by Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics, the quadruped measures roughly 70 by 31 by 40 centimetres, weighs about 15 kilograms, and is equipped with 4D LiDAR for all-terrain navigation. Priced at about $2,800, it is marketed globally as a research, education and consumer companion robot and is widely used in universities and research labs around the world Indian university faces backlash for presenting Chinese robot as its ownaljazeera.com·SecondaryAn Indian university is facing backlash after one of its professors was caught falsely presenting a Chinese-made robot dog at a major artificial intelligence summit, it has reportedly since been asked to leave, as the institution’s own. “You ⁠need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University,” Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told Indian state-run broadcaster DD ⁠News this week..

The incident landed in the middle of an already politically charged atmosphere. The India AI Impact Summit, running from February 16 to 22 at Bharat Mandapam, has been billed as the first major AI gathering hosted in the Global South. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the plenary on Thursday alongside addresses from Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis Indian university faces backlash for presenting Chinese robot as its ownaljazeera.com·SecondaryAn Indian university is facing backlash after one of its professors was caught falsely presenting a Chinese-made robot dog at a major artificial intelligence summit, it has reportedly since been asked to leave, as the institution’s own. “You ⁠need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University,” Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told Indian state-run broadcaster DD ⁠News this week.. During the summit, more than $100 billion of investment in Indian AI projects has been pledged, including investments from the Adani Group conglomerate, tech giant Microsoft and data centre firm Yotta Indian university faces backlash for presenting Chinese robot as its ownaljazeera.com·SecondaryAn Indian university is facing backlash after one of its professors was caught falsely presenting a Chinese-made robot dog at a major artificial intelligence summit, it has reportedly since been asked to leave, as the institution’s own. “You ⁠need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University,” Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told Indian state-run broadcaster DD ⁠News this week..

The opposition Indian National Congress seized on the embarrassment. "The Modi government has made a laughing stock of India globally, with regard to AI. In the ongoing AI summit, Chinese robots are being displayed as our own," the party posted on X, calling the incident "brazenly shameless" Indian university faces backlash for presenting Chinese robot as its ownaljazeera.com·SecondaryAn Indian university is facing backlash after one of its professors was caught falsely presenting a Chinese-made robot dog at a major artificial intelligence summit, it has reportedly since been asked to leave, as the institution’s own. “You ⁠need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University,” Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told Indian state-run broadcaster DD ⁠News this week.. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi described the event as falling short of its billing, arguing that the summit had become more about spectacle than substance, with Indian data interests inadequately protected Indian University Told to Exit AI Summit Over Robot Claimbloomberg.com·Secondary.

Defenders of the summit point out that the Galgotias incident was an isolated lapse by a single exhibitor, not a reflection of the event's broader substance. The expo features hundreds of stalls from Indian startups, research institutions and multinational technology companies. Several legitimate Indian AI ventures have announced partnerships and funding rounds during the week, and the investment commitments — however aspirational — represent genuine corporate interest in India's 1.4-billion-person market and its growing pool of technical talent.

Yet for critics, the episode crystallises a deeper anxiety about India's technology ecosystem. Academic fraud and inflated claims about indigenous innovation are not new complaints in Indian higher education. The Galgotias incident, played out on a global stage with world leaders watching, brought that pattern into uncomfortably sharp focus.

The summit organisers have not indicated whether additional vetting of exhibitors will be implemented for the remaining days. The event has also faced organisational difficulties since opening on Monday, with delegates reporting overcrowding and logistical issues Indian university faces backlash for presenting Chinese robot as its ownaljazeera.com·SecondaryAn Indian university is facing backlash after one of its professors was caught falsely presenting a Chinese-made robot dog at a major artificial intelligence summit, it has reportedly since been asked to leave, as the institution’s own. “You ⁠need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University,” Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told Indian state-run broadcaster DD ⁠News this week.. As of Wednesday afternoon, Galgotias University's stall had been cleared, and the Unitree Go2 — the unwitting star of India's most embarrassing AI moment — was nowhere to be seen.

The incident raises a question that extends well beyond a single university booth: as India positions itself as a serious player in the global AI race, can its institutions deliver substance to match the ambition? The parade of Silicon Valley CEOs and the billions in pledged investments suggest the world is willing to bet on India's potential. But the gap between aspiration and execution — between rebranding a Chinese robot dog and actually building one — remains a challenge that no amount of summit diplomacy can paper over.