From Orion to TJ: How Indian media rebranded a Chinese robodog as innovation

At the India AI Impact Summit, Galgotias University unveiled what it projected as a homegrown marvel: a robotic dog named “Orion”. The problem? “Orion” turned out to be the Unitree Go2 – a commercially available robot made by Chinese robotics company Unitree and sold online in India.

The university’s Centres of Excellence was presented as the brains behind this four-legged future. A representative and a professor told platforms like DD News and Press Trust of India that the robot had been “developed” by the university. Later, when the internet did what the media did not, the university changed tack. And now it has been reportedly told to vacate the summit venue amid flak.

Though the university representatives denied receiving any such directive and blamed the controversy on misrepresentation. “A viral tweet circulated which went in a completely wrong direction and was misinterpreted. Everywhere, we have maintained the same claim – we never said that we manufacture or design these things. We have always said that our university is investing Rs 350 crore in AI,” they said.

Except that’s not what viewers were told on air. A DD reporter who covered it at no point tried to check whether the cutting-edge “innovation” was available for purchase online. Instead, he gushed about the “cute little robot”, calling it “quite naughty” as it performed. After listing iOS apps, a 3D printer, a drone and various student startups, the reporter declared: “Universities like Gagotiia are pioneering that [AI] education for the people, for the students to take India forward to becoming Viksit Bharat by 2047.”

Meanwhile, PTI ran a glowing NewsVoir release headlined: “Galgotias University Pavilion Emerges as a Key Attraction at AI Impact Summit 2026 with Rs. 350+ Crore AI Showcase.” Among the star attractions was the Chinese-made robot. “A major crowd puller at the pavilion was ORION, Operational Robotic Intelligence Node, which interacted live with delegates and demonstrated applied robotics and intelligent systems integration. The live demonstrations drew significant attention, reinforcing the University’s emphasis on hands-on, real-world AI deployment,” it said.

Then came the plot twist. The same Unitree Go2 was reborn as “TJ”.

A PTI video caption claimed that Wipro had showcased “its” dog robot at the summit. “Wipro showcased its ‘dog robot’ at the AI Summit in Delhi, highlighting advancements in AI-driven robotics and automation. Varun Dubey, Head of Innovation at Wipro, spoke about the robot’s capabilities and potential applications across industries,” the caption read.

Although Galgotias University asserted that it had developed the robot, the Wipro representative stopped short of making that explicit claim. Still, the way it was presented suggests it was being projected as an in-house innovation. The robot bore no TJ branding. The O2 marking – typical of the Unitree Go2 – remained intact on the left side of its “head.”

Over at News18 India, the headline screamed: “AI सम्मेलन में छाया TJ डॉग”. The robotic dog’s talents were breathlessly described. Its origin story was not.

NDTV joined in with “AI Summit में रोबॉटिक डॉग ने जमाई धाक!”, featuring reporter Ravish Ranjan Shukla. “TJ” strutted across screens. 

So the same Chinese robot was baptised twice – first as Orion, then as TJ – and passed along from one newsroom to another without a single raised eyebrow. And the amplification didn’t stop at television. Posts celebrating the robot were shared by Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the Ministry of Electronics and IT’s official handle, adding a layer of governmental sheen to what was, at best, a case of creative branding. The tweets have now been deleted.

Galgotias’ “Chinese robot” controversy is less about one expo embarrassment and more about an ecosystem. An ecosystem where “developed” goes unquestioned, press releases become reportage, and rebranding counts as research. Where TV news prizes ideological choreography over basic fact-checking and where fee-paying students are sold spectacle instead of substance.

This isn’t even the university’s first brush with awkward virality. In 2024, after its students were trolled for protesting with placards they struggled to explain, the university published a full-page advertisement in Amar Ujala.

The same year, CEO Dhruv Galgotia, speaking at the Republic Bharat Youth Summit 2024, had said, “We do not need to copy the west but we need to look rather relook inwards at our own Rich history and learn about the best practices done in our own Gurukuls.”

Which makes the Orion-TJ saga oddly poetic.

In a summit celebrating artificial intelligence, what truly went missing was the non-artificial kind.

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