To create the memory they tapered the wire to an hourglass shape at one point along its length.

ECONOMIST: Spintronics

Tensegrity refers to the balance of pushing and pulling forces--the metal pushes, the wire pulls--that work to maintain a flexible, elastic shape.

FORBES: Magazine Article

For the first approach, he shapes a wettened cone of clay on a fast-spinning wheel, gradually turning a small dimple in the top into a bowl shape, which he smooths with a deerskin cloth and releases from its base with one quick draw of a taut wire.

BBC: The art of Japan