A real time, low complexity algorithm is developed to steer a planar patch antenna array beam to the maximum received signal strength (RSS) direction for communication link enhancement. The beam steering towards the maximum incoming signal direction is based on an iterative technique utilizing a set of RSS measurements taken from specific locations in the search space, these locations collectively form an ellipse. The algorithm is denoted as "elliptical peeking". It was simulated for a flying

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... manned aerial vehicle (UAV) as the vehicle tries to identify the maximum signal strength incoming direction of a stationary ground signal and it was tested on an embedded platform to validate its low demand for computational power. Such an algorithm is suitable for autonomous platforms due to its simplicity and low cost.