I just found a post in another forum, and had to share this info with my Nikon mates on here too.

This looks to be either 'promising' or a 'disaster waiting to happen', if I understand the tech details in the link.

A link to a Nikon Patent Application(the google translation is a bit a workout on the internal conversion processes of my grey matter this early in the morning too!).

They seem to be transmitting electronic info form lens to camera via radio transmitters rather than physical contacts(nothing new). and this would then allow the ability to produce some very exotic lenses and suchlike.. but they(Nikon) mention mirrorless cameras in there.

I guess there is an expectation that there will soon be a line of compact mirrorless cameras from both Nikon and Canon (a la, Olympus Pen, EP series, Sony NEX.. etc) to cash in on the trend towards more compact DSLRs for those that really want a P&S
Alternatively< as I've read in some other places, there is also the possibility that Nikon DSLR's will no longer have silly mechanical mirrors in them at all.
And many say this is actually a good thing due to the mechanicalness of the mirror, and it's inherent design problems.(of course that means EVFs, and we all know how bad they currently are! )

Nikon used to make rangefinders(the S range) and they also used to manufacture adapters for a few of their lenses to mount from F to S and backwards(I think).
This is probably a new far distant future development, and no one would be stupid enough to think that, as camera design progresses, that the F-mount will last into the far distant future. While it works perfectly workable now.. I doubt that it will be relevant in say... 25-50years time.. so they probably have to start looking into that future now.

Cameras(ability) seem to have progressed far quicker in the preceding 10 years than they have over the last 100 years, and as we basically understand it, electronic technologies seem to progress far quicker than just about every other genre(relevant to photography that is!). All driven by the consumer of course.

interesting development!