In the International Disaster Reconnaissance (IDR) course, students now use Filio, a platform built by School of Computing Instruction Senior Lecturer Max Mahdi Roozbahani, to capture immersive 360° media, photos, and video that transform real disaster sites in India and Nepal into living digital classrooms.
Offered by the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and taught by IDR director and Regents’ Professor David Frost, the course pairs traditional fieldwork with Roozbahani’s expertise in immersive technology and data-driven learning, transforming on-the-ground observations into reusable, interactive educational resources.
Disasters are not only physical events; they are also information events, Roozbahani says. Effective response and long-term resilience depend on the ability to observe, record, and communicate critical data under pressure. Georgia Tech’s IDR course pairs structured on-campus preparation with international field experiences, enabling students to study the cascading effects of major disasters, including how local building practices, governance, and culture shape damage and recovery.
“When students step into a disaster zone, they learn quickly that resilience is a systems problem: physical, social, and informational. Our job in computing is to help them capture and reason about that system responsibly,” Roozbahani said.
During spring break last year, the cohort traveled along the Teesta River corridor in Sikkim, India. The region is shaped by steep terrain, fast-moving water, and critical infrastructure in narrow valleys.
The visit followed the October 2023 glacial lake outburst flood from South Lhonak Lake, which destroyed the Teesta III hydropower dam and impacted downstream towns, including Dikchu and Rangpo. Field stops across India included Lachung, Chungthang, Dikchu, Rangpo, Gangtok, and New Delhi.
Students explored both upstream and downstream consequences.
Upstream, the team examined how steep terrain and river confinement amplify flood forces, creating cascading risks for infrastructure. Using Filio’s interactive 360° media, students captured conditions in Lachung and Chungthang, allowing viewers to explore the landscape through a 360° photo and 360° video that reveal how topography and river dynamics intensify disaster impacts.
They studied community-scale effects downstream, including damaged buildings, disrupted access, and prolonged recovery timelines.
Rangpo offered a glimpse of recovery in motion, with materials staged for rebuilding bridges and roads essential to commerce and emergency response.
Students documented their field experience using Filio, an AI-powered visual reporting platform developed by Roozbahani through Georgia Tech’s CREATE-X ecosystem. Filio captures high-resolution photos, video, and 360° immersive media, preserving both the facts and the context of disaster sites; what the site felt like, what was lost, and what communities prioritized in recovery.
“A 360° capture lets students return months later and ask better questions. That second look is where learning accelerates,” Roozbahani said.
Supported by alumni and faculty mentors, including Tech alumnus Chris Klaus and Georgia Tech mentor Bill Higginbotham, the platform is evolving into a reusable educational library for future courses on immersive technology, responsible AI, and global resilience.
The course concluded in Kathmandu, Nepal, where students examined how heritage, governance, and the everyday use of public space shape resilience.
Through Filio’s immersive documentation — including a 360° photo and 360° video from Kathmandu — the focus broadened from hazard impacts to cultural context, highlighting how recovery is not only about rebuilding structures, but also about preserving identity, memory, and community.
Frost and Roozbahani envision the IDR immersive media library as a reusable resource for students even when they cannot travel, supporting future courses on immersive technology, responsible AI, and global resilience. Spring 2026 cohorts will continue to build on this foundation by documenting, analyzing, and sharing insights that can improve education and real-world disaster response.
In the International Disaster Reconnaissance (IDR) course, students now use Filio, a platform built by School of Computing Instruction Senior Lecturer Max Mahdi Roozbahani, to capture immersive 360° media, photos, and video that transform real disaster sites in India and Nepal into living digital classrooms.
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