Galgotias University has issued a vehement denial amid reports that it was asked to exit the ongoing AI Impact Summit in Delhi after presenting a Chinese-made robodog as its own creation. Controversy had erupted after media outlets that cover Chinese and Eurasian news ‘exposed’ the team for ‘misrepresenting’ the imported technology. The University had issued a statement amid widespread backlash and claimed it had never said Galgotias bult the robot.

According to an ANI update quoting government sources, Galgotias University has been asked to vacate the Expo area at the summit with immediate effect amid continued backlash over the display. But a professor with the university told the news agency that they had received no such instructions.

“As of now, we have no such information,” insisted Dr Aishwarya Shrivastava.

What is the controversy?

Galgotias University had displayed a robotic dog at its stall during the AI summit — with videos from the event soon going viral. Representatives from the institute in Noida were seen telling Summit attendees that the robodog “walks around their campus all the time”. Clips also show a professor claiming that the dog (named Orion) was developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University.

Matters came to a head after Chinese media outlets and eagle-eyed netizens realised that the robot was actually manufactured by Unitree Robotics. The Chinese company had launched its commercially available ‘Unitree Go2’ robodog in mid-2023. Galgotias University had later issued a statement explaining that they had bought it as a teaching tool to provide hands-on robotics experience.

“Our students are experimenting with it, testing its limits, and in the process, expanding their own knowledge. 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,” the university added.

Galgotias University doubles down

A teacher with the university was seen introducing the robodog as ‘Orion’ and explaining its features during the expo. Videos showed professor Neha Singh claiming it was developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias and freely roamed the campus.

“By one misinterpretation, the internet has gone by storm. It might be that I could not convey well what I had wanted to say, or you could not understand well what I wanted to say. I am a faculty member in communications at the School of Management, not in AI. Only you (the media) have heard what the government has said. As far as I know…we are here at the expo. As a university, we are standing tall. The robot was brought here only for projection….” she told ANI on Wednesday.