I would like to detect the pattern in a 2D image, which is similar to a data matrix or a qr code, but without the locator/timing information. Here is an example image (which is a part of a data matrix):

In this particular case I would like to have a 0-1 matrix of size 17x17 as a result. Ideally, I would like to be able to recognize the pattern from a photograph.

I am new to image processing, I would like to get some tips on where to start.

So far I was trying to see how QR code/data matrix code readers work, but without success. I was hoping that these readers start with some image processing to get the 0-1 matrix corresponding to the image and then use the locator information for only decoding the information. If this were the case, then I would not need to do any image processing (so it would be an easy solution for me), but I was not able to figure out how these readers work (and use only the part I need).

On the other hand, I can imagine that these readers do the image processing using already the locator information, in which case I need to do the image processing from scratch.

I know that this is a very general question, but if someone can point me to where to start or to some sample code to something that does similar image processing task, I would appreciate it.