Unisys Corporation has partnered with Inspire Health Alliance, to support Inspire's real-time COVID-19 registration, testing and access control, which will reduce cost and offer an effective and scalable solutions to organizations, Unisys reported on Monday.

“Through this arrangement, Unisys is able to complement Inspire's robust COVID-19 testing at a scale and with the security, onsite integration and logistics management not yet seen in the market today. We are proud to join this meaningful effort and do our part to help get America back to work," said Chris Kloes, vice president, Unisys Security Solutions.

The collaborative solution will combine content from Inspire and Unisys to provide companies with portable, point-of-care testing machines, licensed healthcare administrators that will administer COVID-19 antibody and antigen tests and test results available in under 15 minutes.

Unisys has offered Unisys Stealth software and security services, systems integration capabilities and onsite technical support and field services to protect the COVID-testing machines, and data from the machines, in support of the solution and testing at a national scale.

The AFIAS Rapid COVID-19 Antibody Tests will use blood from a finger prick to test COVID-19 antibodies and antigens. Once the testing has completed, the organization can determine the actions to take based on the test results. The antigen test has been presented to the FDA for approval and is in the final stages of completion.

Unisys Stealth(identity) has been made available to verify an individual's identity during enrollment and that each test is administered to the right person, preventing identity fraud. Biometric identity, combined with a negative test result, may be integrated into building management systems to provide physical access.

Unisys' security portfolio offerings also include Unisys Stealth micro-segmentation software that will isolate compromised devices or users and reduce attack surfaces by encrypting all communication between Stealth-protected assets and cloaking the assets from unauthorized users. 

“Security and scale are two of the biggest success factors in deploying technology-enabled solutions for workplace or school health and safety," said Ricardo Salas, managing partner at Inspire Health Alliance. "We are thrilled to partner with Unisys to deliver both and are now taking orders for delivery effective the week of September 14."

About Unisys

Unisys is a global information technology company that builds high-performance, security-centric solutions for the most demanding businesses and governments. Unisys offerings include security software and services; digital transformation and workplace services; industry applications and services; and innovative software operating environments for high-intensity enterprise computing.

NASA has awarded 14 planning grants, totalling more than $587,000 to Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) through its Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP), the administration reported on Tuesday.

“Efforts with Minority Serving Institutions to broaden student participation exemplify the work of the federal coordination in STEM community and highlight the direct benefit to students when agencies work together,” said Mike Kincaid, NASA associate administrator for STEM Engagement. “We look forward to see the results of this partnership.”

NASA awarded the grants as part of the agency’s Office of STEM Engagement, and are part of a phased partnership effort with the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The funding will boost the development of coalitions aimed at broadening participation in engineering, following the goals of the NSF Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES) initiative.

Through planning grant awards, the lead MSIs have developed coalitions with a variety of partners, including other MSIs, non-MSIs, industry, non-profit organizations and other non-governmental organizations.

The project will form a network to promote interagency collaboration and provide STEM knowledge to the next generation of underrepresented children.

The awardees include: California State University, Northridge and San Bernardino; Florida A&M University; Navajo Technical College; New Mexico State University, Las Cruces; North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro; Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Texas A&M University, Kingsville; University of Hawaii, Honolulu;University of Massachusetts, Boston; University of Texas, El Paso; University of Texas, San Antonio.

“We value NASA’s support for the vision of the NSF INCLUDES initiative, as we work collaboratively for inclusive change to the STEM workforce, and we look forward to the outcomes of the catalytic work that will be conducted through these planning grants,” said Karen Marrongelle, assistant director of NSF’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources.