In the last five years, developed countries have seen more rapid advancement in the application of high technology to manufacturing than in the two preceding decades. Many of these applications have occurred under the banner of a new type of manufacturing called flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs). With the implementation of FMSs, a new awareness of the opportunities for manufacturing-cost reduction is emerging. In this paper, the FMS taxonomy and structure is presented. To exploit this structure, FMS process and problem views are presented, and various aspects of flexibility are discussed. To show the complexity of an FMS, its design and operational problems are defined. Basic functions of robots and vision systems are also presented. Finally, FMS modularity issues and future trends in FMS development are outlined.