Here's some welcome news for anyone not jiving with the whole 2006 "cool biz" fashion campaign that was officially launched today...

Multimedia production company Buildup Co., Ltd. has announced plans to begin renting high-quality animatronic suits in June. First up for rent will be the company?s panda suit.

(The panda suit appeared on NHK's "Tensai Terebi-kun MAX")

The realistic-looking panda suit consists of two layers -- an inner layer of padding to reproduce the panda?s muscles and an outer layer featuring a coat of high-quality fur. The eyes, ears and mouth are equipped with a total of 14 remote control servo motors, allowing the panda to make facial expressions ranging from pleasant smiles to angry grimaces. To add to the realism, the designers eliminated the peepholes for the person inside. Instead, the performer sees by means of video goggles connected to a CCD camera system.

Although Buildup generally loans its suits to production companies, the panda suit is available for rent to individuals as well. With the rental service scheduled to begin today (June 1), the company has yet to announce the rental price. Only one panda suit is available at the moment, but Buildup is looking into expanding its lineup with suits modeled after other animals.

You can see a short video of the panda frolicking on the side of a road on Buildup's panda suit webpage.

[Source: IT Media]