That's an interesting idea. Does a chromatic keyboard layout exist?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_table_note_layout
I have never been able to manage a piano. The hexagonal layout looks daunting at first glance:
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rScBRKlTdoE/Shc8M8VM4SI/AAAAAAAAS...
But I have found it much more straightforward. Over and above not needing to memorize every pattern twelve times, the layout is so intuitive, I'll frequently find myself reaching out blindly for notes in my head and landing them correctly.
Unfortunately, the manufacturer of the above keyboard is no more, but there a recent successful kickstarter for one:
Most button accordions and modern electronic instruments (Linnstrument, Soundplane, Eigenharp) are have chromatic layouts... I wonder if you could hook up one of these devices up to a player piano without too much latency.
For the accordion you adjust the force of the air, so you don't have to use different forces on the buttons. It's OK that you find them with only your fingertips.
That's less OK when the force hitting the key is directly transferred to the string making the sound. You need a dynamic range. It seems to me most of the people here are forgetting that.
Such a layout could probably be used on an organ. But I think keyboard size is less of a problem for organs?
As someone with relatively small hands for piano, I have been enjoying the wider range of intervals with one hand provided by the Linnstrument's layout.