Anat Caspi

Timeline

1. By 2007

   Stanford and a genomics doctorate

   She earns a bachelor's degree in computer science and feminist studies and a master's degree in computer science at Stanford. In 2007, she completes a computational biology PhD at UC Berkeley and UCSF with Lior Pachter, studying comparative genomics of repeat elements.

2. 2015–2017

   OpenSidewalks and AccessMap

   In 2015, she and Nicholas Bolten begin OpenSidewalks through the UW eScience Institute's Data Science for Social Good program, developing shared data on pedestrian paths, curb ramps and other features. They develop AccessMap and launch it in 2017 to give pedestrians routes based on their mobility needs. OpenSidewalks uses computer vision to collect information on infrastructure and path connections.

3. 2017

   Northwest Access Fund’s Innovation Award

   She receives Northwest Access Fund's Innovation Award in 2017 for her work on AccessMap and other accessible technologies. These include the Universal Play Kiosk, a configurable activity space that engages children with different abilities in games and sensory activities.

4. January 2021

   The Transportation Data Equity Initiative

   In January 2021, she leads the Transportation Data Equity Initiative with co-leader Mark Hallenbeck, director of UW's Washington State Transportation Center. The project receives $11.45 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop data standards and mobility tools for people with disabilities and other underserved travelers.

5. 2023

   Seattle’s Human Rights Educator Award

   She receives the City of Seattle Human Rights Commission's 2023 Human Rights Educator Award for her accessibility work and education at the Taskar Center. Her teaching includes Responsible Data Science in Urban Spaces, a project course she launches in 2017 to help students build software for more accessible communities.

6. August 2024

   Vision-language models for urban mapping

   In August 2024, she coauthors “Towards Zero-Shot Annotation of the Built Environment with Vision-Language Models” with Bin Han, Yiwei Yang and Bill Howe. The study tests how vision-language models can identify urban features in satellite images, using segmented image regions to help annotate stop lines and raised tables.

7. March 2025

   Eye-tracking for autonomous mobility

   In March 2025, she works with Karen Leung as co-principal investigator on a $300,000 National Science Foundation project in UW's Control and Trustworthy Robotics Lab. The team uses eye-tracking glasses to study how autonomous wheelchairs and other robots can adapt to individual comfort and safety preferences.

8. As of October 2026

   Directing the Taskar Center

   As of October 2026, she directs the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology at the University of Washington's Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, where she is a principal scientist. She is also an affiliate assistant professor in UW's Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. Her research applies machine learning, computer vision and social robotics to navigation, personal mobility devices and responsive environments for work and play.