Noida | What began as an ambitious showcase of technology at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 quickly morphed into a public relations nightmare for Galgotias University. Now, the institution is in full damage-control mode, primarily addressing the professional fate of Professor Neha Singh, the face of the viral blunder.
Earlier this week, during the summit at Bharat Mandapam, Professor Singh proudly introduced “Orion,” a quadruped robot, to the media, presenting it as an in-house innovation developed by the university’s “Centre of Excellence.” Netizens and tech enthusiasts, however, were quick to spot the truth. They identified the machine as the “Unitree Go2,” a mass-produced robotic dog from a Chinese robotics firm, readily available online for roughly ₹2 to ₹3 lakh.
The backlash was immediate and brutal. Summit organizers swiftly asked Galgotias University to vacate their pavilion, leaving behind an empty stall and a massive blow to the institution’s credibility.
In the aftermath of the intense online trolling and public scrutiny, eagle-eyed social media users noticed that Professor Singh had updated her LinkedIn profile with the “Open to Work” badge. This immediately fueled rampant speculation that she had been unceremoniously fired by the university management to save face.
However, Galgotias University has strongly refuted these rumors. Speaking to the media, University Registrar Nitin Kumar Gaur clarified the administration’s stance. “She is not suspended and has been told to stay. Proceedings will continue until we understand why this mistake was committed,” Gaur stated. He emphasized that the reputation of the entire university shouldn’t be tarnished due to the missteps of a single individual.
In a formal apology issued earlier, the university had distanced itself from Singh’s claims, stating she was “ill-informed,” “not authorised to speak to the press,” and had provided factually incorrect information out of sheer “enthusiasm of being on camera.”
Professor Singh, for her part, maintains that the entire fiasco is a result of miscommunication rather than deliberate deceit. Speaking to PTI, she defended her intentions: “We cannot claim that we manufactured it. I have told everyone that we introduced it to our students to inspire them to create something better on their own.”
While the university has expressed regret over the incident, promising an internal investigation to prevent future occurrences, the viral saga of the “Orion” robodog continues to be a cautionary tale of unchecked enthusiasm in the age of instant digital verification.
