NEW DELHI, Feb 18, 2026 — An Indian university has been asked to vacate its exhibition stall at the country’s flagship artificial intelligence summit after a commercially available robotic dog made in China was presented as a homegrown innovation, according to government officials familiar with the matter.
The incident occurred during the India AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, where a representative from Galgotias University introduced a robotic dog named “Orion” as a development of the university’s Centre of Excellence.
Shortly after the presentation aired on state television, online users identified the robot as the Go2 model produced by Unitree Robotics. The Unitree Go2 is a commercially available quadruped robot widely used in research and education worldwide.
The revelation sparked criticism on social media and raised questions about representation and transparency at a high-profile event showcasing India’s technological ambitions.
India’s IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had initially shared a clip of the demonstration on social media before removing the post amid the backlash.
University Response
Galgotias University and the staff member involved later clarified that the robotic dog was not developed by the institution and said no formal claim of original invention had been made.
As of Wednesday morning, the university’s stall remained open, with representatives addressing media inquiries regarding the incident. Officials at the booth said they had not yet received formal notification confirming removal from the event.
Spotlight on India’s AI Push
The episode has drawn wider political reactions, including criticism from the opposition party Indian National Congress, which described the situation as damaging to India’s global AI reputation.
The India AI Impact Summit, running through Saturday, has been promoted as a landmark gathering for artificial intelligence in the Global South.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the summit alongside global tech leaders including Sundar Pichai of Google, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Dario Amodei of Anthropic.
