The BLEEX was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and developed by the Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory, a unit within the University of California, Berkeley Department of Mechanical Engineering.

DARPA provided the initial $50 million of start-up funds in 2001.

[1] The BLEEX has four hydraulically actuated joints: two at the hip, one at the knee, and one at the ankle.

The BLEEX is energetically autonomous, meaning it has an on-board power supply.

[2] Development later moved to Lockheed Martin, where the device became known as the Human Universal Load Carrier, or HULC.