Dash Panel

Dash Panels allow the player to reach top speed as soon as they walk/run on top of them. They have become a rather common item in the Sonic the Hedgehog series.

First Uses in Early Games
Sonic and Tails first used dash panels in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. One kind was featured in the Chemical Plant Zone: these ones was larger than the characters and consisted of a pair of rapidly spinning black wheels. In the Wing Fortress Zone, a new kind was used which launched Sonic or Tails a short distance into the air while propelling them forward. The latter kind reappeared in the Flying Battery and Death Egg Zones of Sonic &amp; Knuckles.

In Sonic CD, they appear in Stardust Speedway and take the shape of grey protusions from the ground that will launch Sonic (and Tails, in the re-release) in whichever direction he is going.

In Sonic 3, dash panels appeared in the Launch Base Zone. They looked like small boxes with three arrows on them, indicating the direction in which they would send the character.

Sonic Adventure series
This game introduces the type of panel that launches the player into the air to cross large gaps that can't be crossed with a spin jump. The regular ones look blue and flat.

Sonic Advance series
Dash Panels had a different look. Basically the same as the ones in Chemical Plant Zone, but smaller and orange.

Sonic Heroes
The dash panel has a different look again. Now it is flat and black and has red arrows on it.

Sonic Riders series
In these games the dash panels were the same as the ones in Shadow the Hedgehog (game) but gray. The dash panels that launch players in the air were replaced by ramps that look similar.

Sonic Rush
In this game, the dash panels look ripped from Sonic Advance, but the ones in the special stages look like they're from Shadow the Hedgehog.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
In this game, the Dash Panels had grey edging and black and yellow arrows. They were only used when you used the flee option during battle (due to the RPG nature of the game) and are not seen in the field.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
Dash panels looked like small treadmills with arrows on them. One kind increased the speed of the character across the ground, while others were set at a 45 degree angle which would launch the character upwards as well.

Sonic Unleashed
This game introduces a dash panel that goes on rails that have the same effect as the dash panel. They look like blue and black triangles kind of hovering on either side of the rail. There are also panels that makes Sonic launch in air. The regular dash panels still speeds Sonic up and look the same as the ones in Shadow the Hedgehog.

Sonic Generations
Dash panels were still the same as Sonic Unleashed in modern stages, but they look different in Classic Stages, appearing like Chemical Plant's boosters from Sonic The Hedgehog 2.

Trivia

 * For Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Generations, when touching a Dash Panel, Sonic will do a spindash animation.