New Delhi, February 18 Private university Galgotias apologized on Wednesday for "misleading" after a controversy arose over the display of a made-in-China robotic dog as its own innovation during the India AI Impact Summit, and said one of its representatives at the booth was "misinformed".
The controversy erupted after Neha Singh, a professor of communications at the University, showed DD News a robotic dog named Orion on Tuesday, claiming that it "was developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University".
As the video went viral, social media users highlighted that the robot was actually a Unitree Go2, manufactured by China's Unitree Robotics, and commonly used in research and education worldwide.
As the episode escalated into a controversy, the university was asked to vacate its stall at the AI summit.
"We wish to apologize for the confusion created at the recent AI summit," a university spokesperson said. "One of our representatives at the booth was misinformed."
"She was not aware of the technical origins of the product, and in her enthusiasm for being on camera, she gave factually incorrect information, even though she was not authorized to speak to the press. There was no institutional intent to misrepresent the innovation," the spokesperson added.
Earlier on Wednesday, IT Secretary S Krishnan said that the government does not want any exhibitor to showcase items that are not their own.
"We do not want such exhibits to continue," he said, after organizers asked Galgotias University to vacate its stall.
