Prompting Realities is a design research project exploring how large language models (LLMs) can act as intermediaries between human imagination and physical artifacts. The project investigates prompting not just as a linguistic operation but as a new interaction modality—where language becomes a material practice capable of shaping behavior, movement, and experience in the physical world. It aims to establish a reproducible pipeline for connecting AI-driven interpretation with tangible expression, enabling designers and researchers to prototype hybrid systems where computational intelligence and material agency co-evolve through dialogue.

The Windmill Ecosystem Prototype operationalizes the concept of Prompting Realities by demonstrating how natural language interaction can orchestrate a network of physical and virtual artifacts. The system connects a large language model (LLM) interface to a set of three tangible windmills—each representing a distinct behavioral agent—through structured MQTT communication. When users issue prompts, the assistant interprets them into machine-readable commands defining direction, speed, and timing parameters, which are then transmitted to control each motorized windmill in real time. This loop—prompt → structured response → actuation—embodies how linguistic input can fluidly modulate physical expression.

Designed as both a research probe and technical pipeline, the windmill ecosystem reveals how prompting can serve as a meta-interface for situated, embodied computation. The prototype frames the physical ensemble as a dynamic conversational field where meaning, movement, and intention are co-constructed between human, model, and machine. By linking symbolic reasoning with continuous motion, it explores how LLMs may become material collaborators—agents that translate abstract linguistic concepts into tangible, aesthetic, and spatial outcomes.