Amid online scrutiny over its robotic dogs showcased at the India AI Impact Summit, another claim by the Galgotias University has gone viral. The university has claimed that its faculty and students had designed and developed a soccer drone entirely in-house at its Greater Noida campus.
The claim surfaced the same day university representatives were reportedly asked to leave the exhibition area at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. Sources said the action followed a separate controversy regarding the origin of robotic dogs showcased by the institution.
One more AI Soccer Product developed by Galgotias Centre of Excellence 😡
Who’s going to tell Neha ji? 😭😭😭😭#FI pic.twitter.com/guthG81Z6v
— Fundamental Investor ™ 🇮🇳 (@FI_InvestIndia) February 18, 2026
Galgotias University Controversy
The university had described the soccer drone as the result of complete in-house engineering, from initial simulation work to real-world deployment. In videos circulating on social media, a university staff member is heard saying that the institution has developed everything from “end-to-end engineering” to building what was described as India’s first on-campus soccer drone arena.
However, several social media users alleged that the drone in question resembles the Striker V3 ARF, a commercially available model reportedly priced at around Rs 40,000 in India. The Striker V3 is part of a soccer drone series developed by South Korea-based Helsel Group.
Earlier at the summit, another controversy had emerged after a video showed university representatives presenting a quadruped robot as an innovation developed by its Centre of Excellence. The robot displayed was identified as the Unitree Go2, manufactured by Chinese firm Unitree Robotics. The device is available for purchase in India at prices ranging between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh. At the event, it was reportedly labelled as “Orion.”
University Issues Clarification
However, Galgotias University Professor Neha Singh said their statements were misinterpreted. “I was explaining what the robot can do, its features, and all related details. Somewhere along the way, the message got slightly digressed, and later many things became controversial,” she said.
“The purpose was for students to study the robot and further develop it, contributing to a stronger and more Viksit Bharat. That was our full intention. Unfortunately, due to the surrounding excitement and hype, some things got misrepresented, and the words were slightly misinterpreted, which led to this controversy. We are genuinely embarrassed about it and feel bad that this happened at the AI Summit, which was meant to showcase our students’ work,” Singh added.
