A patent application has been filed by Nintendo for a device that is apparently able to detect objects, and can be used as a controller, according to documents just made public. Although they were apparently filed back in 2014, the documents were published yesterday according to IGN and are reported to contain a lot of technical detail on “a device that can use cameras and mirrors to read and detect objects around it.” The official patent application has the title “Information processing system, information processing program, information processing method and imaging device”.
As you can see in this document posted to NeoGAF, the new device looks a lot like an NFC reader for the 3DS, but it is a new design that can use a camera to photograph and detect the surrounding area. It can also use a light-source projector, and would be capable of wireless connection with a computer.
The name of the inventor attached to the patent is Fumihiko Inoue. Inoue is known to have three other Nintendo patents to his name. Of course, although there is no proof, many people are naturally assuming this new patent has something to do with Nintendo’s Project NX console. We have no confirmation of this as of yet. Stay tuned here for any more news about the NX!