A small Silicon Valley startup is announcing Wednesday that it is close to having a working prototype of a contact lens capable of showing basic information such as driving directions using only eye movements to control the display.

Why it matters: While smart glasses are often touted as a fixture of our augmented-reality future, a handful of companies are taking things in a different direction — focusing on putting smarts into contact lenses instead.

Driving the news: Saratoga, California-based Mojo Vision is announcing an advanced prototype of a smart contact lens.

Eventually, Mojo aims to sell to athletes and others who might benefit from instant, heads-up access to information — ultimately, even mainstream consumers.

How it works: A monochrome green display and a handful of sensors are built into a rigid lens, similar to modern hard contacts.

The big picture: Mojo Vision isn't alone in pursuing smart contacts.

Between the lines: Contacts have some advantages over glasses, such as being more discreet, but also bring lots of challenges due to their size. Everything from displays to batteries has to be built at an even smaller scale.

Hands-on: I recently was able to try Mojo's technology by holding a prototype on a stick close to my eye (as well as by donning a VR headset for a simulation of the experience).

Mojo also demonstrated how the eye can control a cursor.

Because the contact lens was on a stick, I couldn't judge how comfortable it was to wear. But I've worn hard lenses before, and even the not-so-smart variety take some getting used to.