We have seen plenty of patents for the upcoming Nintendo console, NX. Some of the patents have suggested free-form display for a secondary hand-held device, while others have suggested a a diskless stationary game console.
The latest patent that has been published comes from 2014, when Nintendo first filed the patent. According to the patent, Nintendo was/is considering a device that detect objects and be used as a controller.
A detailed description of the patent can be found in a NeoGAF post, but the shorter version of the patent is that Nintendo was considering creating a device that used a camera to photograph and detect the area around it. The patent went on to detail that the device would also be able to act as a projector and be capable of wireless data transfer to a computer.
Whether or not all of these patents will translate into real items for the NX (or be the NX itself) has yet to be verified by Nintendo.